Unshakeable Spirit

By Granville DSouza

You Can Acquire Optimism & Resilience
Are you struggling to overcome certain challenges life has thrown at you?
Are you weighed down by your past memories?
Do you feel that as the years pass, the climb gets steeper and there are no signs of it letting up?
Do you wake up in the morning and wish that you had answers to inspire commitment and action to achieve happiness, peace & fulfillment?
Well, you are not alone. This book will enlighten you about the need to live a purposeful life.
Filled with a treasure trove of inspiring quotes and timeless nuggets of wisdom, Unshakeable Spirit brings to life 14 amazing people who tested and tasted the depths of human potential. Their remarkable achievements form the fabric of ideals that have been passed down for decades and they will remind you how to lead an extraordinary life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ReadOnTime BV
• Release date: Jun 25, 2013
• ISBN: 9781742843216

Granville DSouza

'Granville D’Souza was the Regional Director of Six Seconds (South East Asia) and now heads EQ Asia, a training and consulting company that integrates Emotional Intelligence, psychotherapy and life coaching. For the last 17 years, he has been conducting programs with leaders and teams for the world’s top brands, including HSBC, Shell, Sheraton, Hilton, Hewlett Packard, IBM, SIA and other Fortune 500 companies. His present programs are geared towards personal change and peak performance and include areas of Emotional Intelligence, Coaching & Supervisory Leadership, Communication & Behavioral Awareness and Team Development. He has written 2 other books, authored numerous articles that were published in various magazines and is also the co-creator of EQ Coach Cards.

Book preview

Unshakeable Spirit

Lessons in optimism and resilience

Granville D’Souza, DBA

Unshakeable Spirit

Lessons in optimism and resilience

Copyright © 2012 Granville D’Souza, DBA

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Smashwords Edition

The information, views, opinions and visuals expressed in this publication are solely those of the author(s) and do not reflect those of the publisher. The publisher disclaims any liabilities or responsibilities whatsoever for any damages, libel or liabilities arising directly or indirectly from the contents of this publication.

A copy of this publication can be found in the National Library of Australia.

ISBN:  978-1-742843-21-6 (pbk.)

Published by Book Pal

www.bookpal.com.au

Contents

Introduction

Testimonials

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Chapter 1: An Overview of Optimism and Resilience

Chapter 2: Life Lessons from Mahatma Gandhi, pre-eminent leader of Indian Nationalism

Chapter 3: Life Lessons from Bill Gates, ex-Chairman of Microsoft Corporation

Chapter 4: Life Lessons from Mother Teresa, the Saint from Calcutta

Chapter 5: Life Lessons from Nelson Mandela, freedom fighter and ex-President of South Africa

Chapter 6: Life Lessons from Nick Vujicic, evangelist and motivational speaker

Chapter 7: Life Lessons from Thomas Edison, inventor

Chapter 8: Life Lessons from Dr Viktor Frankl, psychologist and prisoner during World War II

Chapter 9: Life Lessons from Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple…

Chapter 10: Life Lessons from Albert Einstein, genius & Maths whizz

Chapter 11: Life Lessons from Maya Angelou, American author and poet

Chapter 12: Life Lessons from Sir Ernest Shackleton, legendary Antarctic explorer

Chapter 13: Life lessons from Abraham Lincoln, the 16th US President

Chapter 14: Life Lessons from Helen Keller, America’s deaf-blind author and political activist

Chapter 15: Life Lessons from Aung San Suu Kyi, freedom fighter and Burmese opposition politician

References

Introduction

I started writing this book with great enthusiasm after nurturing an avid interest in Man’s ability to rise above his circumstances. We notice inspirational stories like these ever so often, whether in the newspapers, on the internet, from our daily encounters and the books that we come across. There is no shortage of examples amongst friends, family and acquaintances as well. What we also may not realize is that most of us are already living examples of overcoming difficulty in our own lives, starting from the time we learned how to walk.

I read an article in the newspapers about the tenacious spirit of terminally ill people who rise above their challenges, patiently nursing themselves and shockingly overshadowing their peers, only to become top performers in their field. Their areas of specialism may range from sales to sports to the arts and business. Around the same time, I caught a story in Tony Robbins book, Notes From A Friend which spoke about a man in Krakow who escaped the most evil concentration camp during World War 2 because he believed, against all odds, that he could. Even closer to home, what allows a millionaire turned bankrupt make a turnaround to be a millionaire once again? What stimulates a person to chase a dream for 10 years even though s/he can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel at the start? What makes a young abandoned orphan dream again and achieve what he set out to do and become?

We witness numerous reminders everyday like if life throws you a lemon, make lemon squash. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. But when circumstances hit you and you are at the mercy of what life throws at you, for example, the untimely loss of someone dear to you (a child, a parent or a spouse) or a life threatening issue like those relating to your health and you know you can’t have it back again, where do you draw the strength to not only hold on but fight back? History can remind us of tremendous minds of steel who have fought the battle mentally and emotionally, demonstrating unfathomable mental and physical strength that confounds any sceptic about the human spirit. There still remains a huge conundrum among those who struggle with day to day trials and tribulations and then stumble upon those who traversed a similar path and pushed their way triumphantly to the end. This book is meant to demystify the true grit and strength of the human spirit.

Have you ever noticed a toddler in the beginning stages of learning to walk? Amazing isn’t it? Without any prompting, the child falls and gets up, then falls and gets up again with its supple limbs strengthening with every fall and movement. And while this is happening, the mind and body is adapting to the pain of minor obstacles and yet pushing the toddler to keep trying because it registers incremental improvements. It makes the task easier and easier as the little one pushes on. By then, the toddler would have quite subconsciously registered that life has many more of these occasions s/he has to contend with like climbing up and down from a sofa, learning to ask for help, learning to cope with discomfort, etc.

These skills become a natural ability with practice like everything else in life. And as the years pass, challenges can either be viewed as an insurmountable obstacle or a scalable wall with the right attitude and mindset.

My struggles

If you read my first book, I laid out in detail my struggles in school with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and memory lapses. The short version of this is that school in my native country was dreadful when it came to the studies, exams and the results. The school system here was very much about rote learning and this emphasis meant that only kids with great memories could have scored highly since much of it till age 16 required regurgitation. My younger years in school from 7 to 17 were wrought with struggles. I barely made it through all my exams and wondered if my struggles were due to IQ, aptitude or just plain bad attitude. These struggles continued until age 24 when in my second year of university, I finally met someone who would change my life forever.

In the beginning of the 3rd year of university, I decided that I had enough of obtaining Pass and Credit grades. I had gotten too used to this and even my participation in classes was one of indifference and apathy. I finally encountered a lecturer whom I connected so well with. I began to love philosophy and he assured me that with such passion and excitement, I would top the faculty for the subject and I did. The first High Distinction. However, a funny phenomenon ensued. From then on, all my grades were High Distinctions for the remaining subjects for my Bachelors. I learned a great lesson and that is, I had to love what I was doing to fuel passion and excitement.

Besides that, I had a remarkable realization that all those years of average scores and mental blocks did not mean anything because I found a fundamental formula in life. I realised that attitude and character played a much bigger role in defining my life than did any of the studies since age 7.

The real intent of schooling to educate and prepare me for the future had lost its meaning in life because it hardly taught me anything I needed to prepare myself for the working and adult world. These opinions do not differ even after completing my doctorate (all of 10 years). All those years of study did of course contribute to a profound realization and that is a clear understanding of what disappointment, frustration and perseverance meant. I believe the only reason I pursued higher studies was to fill a void that was left empty. This void was a lack of esteem and confidence in my own abilities. The journey which included the studies and exams contributed to a great realization that pushing myself against all the odds was really worth it and the gain is all the more meaningful with the pain that comes with it.

I recall significant moments in 1999, when I was languishing (in fact, almost rotting) at my workplace. I landed a wonderful job where I had initially conducted workshops to improve people performance in the service industry. It was a training and consulting company where I had stayed for 2.5 years. However, it did not challenge me in the least. While I love experiencing great service, I didn’t think my talents were maximised teaching service principles and strategies.

Within 2 years, the signs were clear. I knew I had little to offer especially when I would wake up in the morning searching for aches and pains within my body so as to find an excuse to see the doctor for medical leave. On other mornings, the slightest sneeze would excite me as I saw medical leave potential. I was successful with the doctor sometimes and on other occasions, not so. But my favourite mantra Everything is a gift held me in good stead. I started to notice that I could not bear waking up like this with my passion and excitement for life wilting, especially in the morning when I had at least another 18 hours before I slept again on the same bed. That was a lot of time to bask in no man’s land, clueless about what was to come and what I needed to do.

What I figured out

I did, however, have one passion and that was to inundate myself with no small amount of self-help resources that I found intriguing. I first noticed this when a friend purchased a copy of Success magazine from the US which I chanced upon. It introduced me to the crème de la crème of the business world and also people who made a difference to others’ lives by taking appropriate steps. I also realised that what it took was the right mindset, attitude, skills and strategies of which, at that stage, I really had very little to offer. I recognised that I had to start from ground zero and the rest is history.

In my quest to search for answers, I exhausted every resource I could think of. Since 2000, I filled my calendar with attendance at courses to learn the best methods to find emotional strength and happiness. I am quite trigger happy on the internet when purchasing audio and video programs to improve my life and those of others. Hence, the concoction of consistent positive messages and strategies ringing in my ears over the years had instilled a conviction that indeed challenges are there for all of us to shape character, build strength and prepare for steeper climbs.

After much introspection, hanging out with nature, reading and listening to numerous experts in the field of self-mastery, seeing psychics, palmists, astrologists, healers, something clicked. I was starving myself of getting back to my essence. I felt that I needed to be clear about my values, i.e. what was most important to me in my personal life and my work life. I realised then in 1999 that I was not listening to myself (the most important person in my life). I had invalidated my feelings, my needs and happiness by just ignoring my silent screams in regard to what really mattered in my life. I needed to serve these values in order to receive the best gifts life had to offer. Only when I opened my eyes to years of slumber, did I notice the vast opportunities that were in waiting. But nothing comes free. Some of the greatest gifts come with a hefty price tag.

This book is written for those of us who need to recognize and celebrate that we are indeed very special beings. Our faculties, mind, limbs, emotions and spirit are exceptional resources that can push anyone from the depths of desperation and depression to the heights of self-mastery.

How you will benefit

I decided to take the approach of writing 14 short biographies of the toughest minds and spirits that we have witnessed in the last 150 years. While I can go on about my life story, I am optimistic that at least one of these remarkable people will capture some part of your soul. You will benefit greatly from the illustrious lives of the fourteen I selected. They stand out from the pack because of their outstanding contribution to society in innumerable ways. Most of us would have already benefitted from a few of their creations and if not, at least their constant battle with life circumstances. This spirit of never taking ‘no’ for an answer and fighting constant odds in their lives is something we cannot learn overnight. Their UNSHAKEABLE SPIRIT transcends emotional and mental suffering.

However, their moving stories through sheer hard work and mental fortitude instils courage, perspective and the belief that every human being must fight their battles and push on in the face of struggle. The trials and tribulations of these amazing people will leave you awestruck yet mindful that they were just like you and me without extraordinary powers; they did not come from rich families. Their abilities did not come from a near-death experience which allowed them to see or perform at a level beyond that of you and me.

The greatest lessons I have benefitted from in the past were obtained from actual people because they were able to show the capability of the human spirit. This allows you to up the ante of your own potential and come to some conclusion that if your difficulties are not even half as challenging as theirs, there is certainly a way forward.

In each biography, I have picked several life lessons to reflect each of these personalities. It will help you to focus on your own life in a practical manner and hopefully come to the realization that there is much more within each of us that we have hitherto known, lying untapped. In addition, I have included five reflective questions at the end of each biography that might help you to introspect a little more and hopefully draw similarities between your circumstances and those of these esteemed individuals.

I had no hesitation in picking these heroes as my role models. I hope that these fourteen specially chosen people and their experiences of triumphing over great adversity will inspire you to believe that all of us can marshal courage and an indefatigable spirit. The human spirit lives within each one of us. It takes consistent exercise to tone this muscle into a formidable asset which serves you for the rest of your life. This book will explain how.

Granville D’Souza, DBA

Testimonials

Granville’s insights in the field of EQ have been instrumental for the success of many global leaders. Our managers apply his user-friendly, practical materials and research in their day to day personal and business lives. A definite must read for all of today’s leaders who want to effectively emotionally connect with the people around you; family, clients, staff and those who are important in your life.

Nikheel Advani, Chief Operating Officer and Principal

GRACE BAY RESORTS, Turks & Caicos Islands

In tough times we are often led to think of scarcity and or give up, Granville challenges the status quo by leading the reader to 14 inspirational life lessons from ordinary people that achieved extraordinary outcomes in adverse times. Timely, relevant and a must read to remind us all, we are all capable of great things should we allow ourselves!

Dougall McTavish – Director Higher Ground Coaching.

Imagine reading the concentrated wisdom of 14 people (including Gandhi and Mandela) and letting that wisdom inspire you. Imagine reading the life stories of 14 people (including Aung San Suu Kyi and Abraham Lincoln) and letting those stories inspire you. Imagine reading the research on how 14 people (including Mother Teresa and Helen Keller) demonstrate optimism and resilience that can inspire you. You get all three (wisdom, stories, and research) in Granville D’Souza’s new book Unshakeable Spirit.

Walt Hopkins

Author of Influencing for Results in Organisations

Granville′s entertaining collection of stories about optimism and resilience has something for everyone. The names are famous and the stories inspiring, yet the themes are universal and each reader will relate to these timeless examples of the human spirit′s ability to persevere and to overcome.

Todd Montgomery

Independent Consultant & Executive Coach

tm consultancy

I have always held that the art of story-telling is one talent sorely missing in much of our teacher training. The best teachers tell the best stories and the best stories are from real life. At a time of confused and even conflicting values, Granville offers us the wonderful opportunity to look into the very inspiring lives of 14 men and women; and invites us to recognise ourselves in their stories. He draws out the resilience and optimism that made them extraordinary and I believe he actually opens for each of us the possibility that our ordinary struggles and even failures can lead to extraordinary outcomes. I congratulate him for kindling light and engendering hope.

Br. Michael J. Broughton, FSC.

Associate Vice Chancellor for Lasallian Mission De La Salle University, Manila

Granville’s Unshakeable Spirit has benefited me greatly by guiding me to explore my mind more deeply and conquer its negative patterns and chatter. The book has led me to discover my true potential and my hidden strong spirit, which he calls the Unshakeable Spirit.