When you think of who you are and what you’re made of, the implication is to go big. Embody extraordinary and you will achieve. And that’s the American mantra that teaches us, “go big, or go home,” “work hard, play hard” mentalities. But today I wanted to focus on a small group of men in the Congo that are not about being big anything. They’re just a cool group of men that defy circumstances on a daily basis, to bring hope and inspiration to those around them.
“I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.”
Meet The Sapeurs–members of the Congolese society, a group of men united by style but bonded by an underlining moral code of inspiring others by example. I came across an article about them on Co.Create. The Sapeurs are “all about defying your circumstances through inner conviction–something which though small, is totally unique to human beings and extraordinary in its own right.” I like that mentality, not just for style, but for living a healthy life. I like the idea of celebrating people who put more into life to get more out of it. That’s the type of coach I want to embody everyday–a person who inspires their athlete to put their all into their effort, not because they’ll win but because they’ll get more out of life by going outside their boundaries. And as The Sapeurs remind us, it doesn’t have to be a big effort. It can be a small moment, a microsecond during competition where you think, “huh, why not change my frame of mind; do it not to be better personally, but to inspire others around me to be better.”
Here are a few tidbits from their life and how they succeed in living it:
- you have to mix it up
- look up to your elders
- it’s not about money
- it’s not the cost, but the man inside
- respect others
- be polite, not vulgar
- peace
When there is peace, there’s The Sape. When there is peace, there is life. You can always choose who you are.
