Ubuntu in sports leadership and life
[Music]
let me take you back
to april 2020. we in the uk were in the
midst of our first national lockdown
and like many of i’m sure i resorted a
fair amount of my time
to netflix personally i was really into
watching documentaries
and i happened to be watching one to do
with sports coaches
the episode i was watching one day
highlighted mba and former boston
celtics coach doc rivers
and in 2008 rivers won the celtics their
first nba championship in over 20 years
after the film presents a highlighter of
the feats they achieved in their
transfer year
the interview asks rivers a simple
question
how did you win rivers replies
ubuntu the interview was confused
and asks rivers to repeat and r2 was a
bit perplexed
but rivers only says ubuntu
the film then cut to his former players
being asked the same question
and can you guess what they replied
ubuntu
now sitting there in front of my tv
screen you’re thinking wow i need to get
my hands on this incredible protein
supplement
right away i hopped into the internet
and searched ubuntu food supplement
your search of wound through food
supplements did not come up with any
results
okay fine no problem i searched the
bullet on its own
and to my surprise i discovered there
was a south african philosophy
after doing more research on ubuntu i
stumbled across books
videos and lectures and looking back the
day i found ubuntu
was the day my life changed for the
better
today i want to focus on how we can
apply ubuntu with sports and myself
but ultimately how we can embody the
essence of ubuntu
in life together
first i need to explain what ubuntu is
you’re probably sitting there thinking
it’s still a protein supplement
ubuntu is a zosa word from south africa
that simply means
i am only because you are or i am
because we are
however the concept of ubuntu is found
in almost all africa bounty languages
the philosophy centers itself around the
idea of respect for all human beings
and looking to the person next to you in
their eyes and acknowledging their
humanity
ubuntu is more than a word it’s a way of
life but it can be summarized with some
key concepts
such as unity dignity acknowledging
reality
hope forgiveness celebration of
diversity
and empathy
now i love sports sports and music are
the bedrock of my life
and i’m a fan of almost all sports
except qriket is boring
but the two i engage most in are boxing
and football
to say ubuntu has helped me with sports
would be an understatement
after seeing how united the boston
celtics were in their championship year
how they went through and felt
everything together i knew if ubuntu was
applied to more teams
then more greatness could be achieved
through consistency
i am only because you are these teams
are not built up of groups of
individuals attempting to outshine one
another
but rather a collective unit striving
towards their goals pushing their limits
and seeking success
together it really is amazing what can
be
achieved when teams come together in
unison and i’m sure many of you would be
able to name a number of teams with
great chemistry and drive for success
for instance the arsenal principals who
went the whole season unbeaten
a team we definitely won’t forget
leicester city from just surviving
relegation to english champions
and as average as their season has been
one cannot overlook liverpool
from losing the champions league to
winning in the next year but in that
same year losing the premier league
to winning in the next year everyone on
that team
the players the staff the coaches were
on the collective mission to reclaim
these trophies
even if it did take them 30 years
chelsea found by the way
surprisingly however it was individual
sports where ubuntu guided me the most
now i don’t know if any of you have ever
walked into a boxing gym but walking
into one for the first time second time
even the 50th time
is well no walk in the park as you can
imagine there’s a lot of
anger aggressive aggression attitude
expressed by the people in a boxing gym
the energy is electric but for me at
least can cause some anxiety
for a long time even though i’ll not be
fighting any of those guys in actual
bouts
i’ve used everyone who walked into that
gym as an enemy and there was one guy in
particular
same age as me who took a disliking to
me and in return i did the same
every session we sparred and every
session we left a piece of ourselves in
that ring
you’ve seen the theater in manila but
have you seen the dungeon in south
london
there’s no escape when you get into that
ring
eventually i think we both came to the
realization that this was affecting our
progress
throwing hay makers lack of technique
lack of discipline
but i wasn’t ready to put my practice
pride aside i was ready to go to war
but one session we sparred it was a
little different
this guy came out as a boxer with class
elegance grace
and it forced me to change my usual
punch of style and i’m better off
because of it
don’t get me wrong still into war but
always run a strategy rather than who’s
got the biggest guns
but what i distinctly remember causing
my paradigm shift was what he did
after the session after he sparred i had
a lot of blood gushing from my nose
as i’m walking to the toilet to clean
myself i see him walk out with some
towels
some tissues and some water he offers
them to me
take him to a seat and says that was the
best spot i’ve had in the world
we’re gonna make each other better this
is ubuntu
i am only because you are
after this experience and doing more
reading on ubuntu walking into the
boxing gym became
less daunting and more loving and
walking into your home with your family
your community
i accepted with all on our own
individual missions but through
interdependence
we can reach our goals a lot quicker and
be happier when we
or others reach them there’s an african
proverb that states
if you want to go quickly go alone if
you want to go far
go together
more often than not in sports and life
the captain is not the leader
we tend to associate the captain as the
person who wears the armband
and tend to neglect the rest of the team
as if their voice is less important
but this is so far from the truth
a captain is a person who can
effectively carry out tasks required in
the field of work
a leader is someone who influences
people in all aspects of life
sometimes the captain is also the leader
but ubuntu teaches us we can all be
leaders
not me but we
first and foremost this means being the
leader of your own life not on a selfish
way that many self-help philosophies may
preach
but in a way that demonstrates you have
respect for others thus you have respect
for yourself
because the better you are the better i
will be
born to is not a matter of respecting
yourself first and other second
instead looking within to show others
and ourselves respect at the same time
ultimately it’s about being proactive
and responding to any given situation
with dignity
in return this stimulates
interdependence because being the leader
of your own life
encourages others to be the leader of
theirs
we are all leaders acknowledging all of
our humanities
brings us one step closer to realizing
it
ubuntu is so much more than sports
though while ubuntu can bring about
great leads in addressing them
it’s in personal life and collective
struggle while i feel its spirit is most
needed
and valued
ubuntu teaches us it’s not good to sit
with resentment
and that forgiveness is key because not
only does it bring
a clarity of mind to the person who’s
angered it brings clarity of mind
to all of our lives when nelson mandela
was asked
who you wish to invite to his
presidential inauguration dinner
he insisted his former jail on robben
island crystal brown was invited
by then mandela and bran’s friendship
became public knowledge
and allowed other people in south africa
to reconsider
whether they were able to forgive
perpetrators of harm in their own lives
one man’s journey to one man’s
forgiveness made the rest of the
nation’s journey to unity
a lot easier maya angelou once described
bitterness it’s like a cancer that eats
upon the host
and while our emotions towards someone
may be justified ubuntu asks us
what happens to our soul if we choose
not to forgive
the reasons the reason why leaders like
mandela martin luther king jr
mahatma gandhi archbishop desmond tutu
were so effective in their rebellions
and spreading their message across the
world was that they preached forgiveness
however not because their persecutors
were worthy of it
but rather so they can put their
self-righteousness and pride aside
and lead collective movements to help
with the betterment of society
their messages transcended their times
and to this day give us hope on looking
towards the future
who forgives wins a simple african
proverb
the one that only the strong can follow
to say ubuntu has helped me with life
would be a huge understatement
the philosophy has humbled me healed me
and made me realize i don’t need a
protein supplement to excel at sports
every day i wake up i want to embody
ubuntu feel what i
am because we are means and attempt to
help my fellow human beings
ubuntu is not an exclusive philosophy is
something i passionately believe
we can all strive towards even i a
flawed individual
sometimes arrogant sometimes resentful
sometimes scared
had my soul touched by this beautiful
philosophy
and here i am talking to you about my
journey to becoming both a better
listener
and a leader a better learner and a
teacher
as i said we can all be leaders and if
you ever doubt yourself
let me leave you with one last african
proverb
whenever you think you are too small to
make a difference
try to fall asleep with a mosquito in
the room
thank you
[Music]
you