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Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison, facing the constant threat of violence and death. His courage was not a lack of fear, but a triumph over it. He famously said, '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. ' For Mandela, courage was a decision to act on principle regardless of the personal cost, a quality that eventually brought down the system of apartheid.
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it."
"I could not leave my people and my country. It would be a betrayal."
"The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."
"I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination."
"May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears."
"To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity."
"I detest racialism, because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man."
"Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace."
"Only free men can negotiate; prisoners cannot enter into contracts."
"I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul."
"I am prepared to die. This was the ideal for which I am prepared to live and to achieve."
Seeing how Nelson Mandela approaches Courage helps you apply the idea with more precision.
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"Use this collection whenever you need Nelson Mandela's lens on Courage."