Dear Darling Friends,

It’s taken George Weah 12 years since his first stab at the presidency to become the president of Liberia.

George Weah is no ordinary politician. George Weah was world footballer of the year in 1995. After jumping into politics he realised that compared to his sizzling quick dribbles, democracy is slow motion.

The footballing world celebrates as one of its finest is all set to take over as head of state of Liberia.

The inspirational fairy tale of the boy who grew up in the slums of capital Monrovia is tempered with the reality of politics. It took nothing less than a Harvard Nobel-feted economist, and Africa’s first elected woman head, to keep Weah away from the presidency 12 years ago.

Weah, the first African winner of Ballon d’Or, is a legend in his country, but the electorate that had seen two massive civil wars, corruption scandals and economic hardships and an outbreak of Ebola, recognized the need for a leader with a skill-set that wasn’t to be confused with the talent of kicking a mere ball.

Weah lost the elections but did not lose his dreams. He realized what has to be done and put his head down to doing just that.

He went on to get his high school diploma at the age of 40. He proceeded to complete his college education. He stayed on the path of education and went on to get a management degree from the US before taking a second job at the office. And he WON.

In this realism lies some lessons for sports people all around the world.

Politics is a different ball game, needing more humility than what sporting arenas usually equip stars with. A wise man once said, it requires humiliation to develop humility. His defeat humiliated him. He developed humility. Coupled with determination, this humility has now propelled him to the highest office of his nation.

All the best George Weah. May you excel in presidency the way you did on the football field.

With love, prayers and exceptional wishes,

naren

Imagine, when we wake up, we are given only what we had thanked for.

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