Take a page out of Kevin Anderson’s book

Kevin Anderson considers himself a South African – even though he lives in Florida in the US – and he gets angry with those who say he isn’t.

After his marathon run at Wimbledon, in which he finished runner-up in what is perhaps the world’s greatest tennis championship, Anderson did a very un-South African thing. He didn’t make excuses for losing, he didn’t blame anyone else.

He was as gracious in defeat against Novak Djokovic as he was in victory over John Isner in their near record-breaking semifinal.

And much as his achievement, and that of his countryman Raven Klaasen, who was in the losing doubles final team, will inspire South Africans of the future, we believe Anderson and other humble sporting stars have a much more important lesson for the rest of the country.

That lesson is that you must not only believe in yourselves, but don’t rely on others to help you to success, or blame others when you fail.

You are the architect of your own destiny. And, to quote Bob Marley, “none but ourselves can free our minds”. None but ourselves can make the country great.

Stop blaming. Stop complaining. Start doing.

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