Whether or not you’re a rugby fan, I think Siya Kolisi’s story is one worth knowing. If you have no idea who I’m talking about, he is the captain of the Springboks, the South African national rugby team. A few hours ago, coached by the selfless Rassie Erasmus, he led the Springboks to a World Cup Rugby win against England. Kolisi wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth and to get where he is, is something worthy of being shared.
Tom Fordyce, writing for the BBC wrote: “Born to teenage parents in the poor township of Zwide, just outside Port Elizabeth on the Eastern Cape, he was brought up by his grandmother, who cleaned kitchens to make ends meet. Bed was a pile of cushions on the living-room floor. Rugby was on dirt fields. When he went to his first provincial trials he played in boxer shorts, because he had no other kit.” Like I said, no silver spoon. Today, he is an international rugby player who has not only led his team to a great win but said win is uniting a country that is sometimes divided, in essence lending some healing to the racial divide.
Whilst being interviewed by Jim Hamilton for Rugby Pass, Kolisi, speaking about his childhood said “we played in a field full of thorns but we had to play bare feet so it was difficult.” Today he’s led his team to win the Rugby World Cup. I think sometimes it’s the thorns that turn you into a winner. All the people I admire who have achieved something great, have had to contend with some thorns in their lives. What thorns have you had to deal with or are you currently dealing with. Note them down because they will become the backdrop of your story. It might not be easy to go through whatever it is now but when your story is told, it will inspire someone, the way Siya Kolisi is doing for me right now and for many others all over the world, especially a township kid who watched the match today.
I hope Kolisi’s story shows you that if you believe, anything is possible. Those seemingly impossible dreams you have, they can and will come true. Let it also be evidence that a few thorns along the way won’t kill you, they will add to your story and turn someone else into a believer.
