“Va vers les gens, vit avec eux. Apprend d’eux. Aime-les. Commence avec ce qu’ils connaissent. Planifie avec eux. Construit sur ce qu’ils ont. Enseigne en montrant. Apprend en pratiquant. Ne te conforme pas, mais transforme. Ne soulage pas mais libère. Et quand avec les meilleurs leaders, le travail est fait, la tâche accomplie, les gens diront nous l’avons fait nous-mêmes”. Lao Tsu, Fondateur de la philosophie Tao, 600 av J.C.
English Translation:
“Go to the people. Live with them. Learn from them. Love them. Start with what they know. Build with what they have. But with the best leaders, when the work is done, the task accomplished, the people will say ‘We have done this ourselves.” – Lao Tzu, founder of the Tao philosophy, 600 B.C
I discovered the above wise quote through reading a publication by a great African man here in Benin Republic, whose works have inspired me since I read about an award he received way back in 1987.
That was during my first undergraduate year as a student of Agricultural Extension Services in Nigeria’s University Of Ibadan.
I was 17 years old at the time. In another 2 months from today I will clock 46.
How time has flown – almost 30 years have passed – yet this man has continued to be a leading light and inspiration to many across the world, for his works.
I constantly drew inspiration from following his progress, and often visualised myself doing something similar in my chosen area of interest.
Over the past 10 years I’ve taken concrete steps closer to achieving my dream. And I resolved that I would find a way to meet and thank him for doing what he’s been doing.
Relocating to Benin Republic in 2013 made the possibility of that happening just a matter of time.
And now it has…
About 2 weeks ago I met and spoke with him for the first time ever. The next day I ran into him again and we had a short exchange.
In between those 2 meetings I had a good opportunity to observe him from a distance as he moved around and interacted with the people. It was obvious, to me, that there was deliberate purpose in his actipns and utterances.
Later that day I got handed a document published by his organization in which I read the quote reproduced above, and had my inner eyes opened to the secret of his success.
Click here to read the page on his organisation’s website, where the quote is reproduced.
Click below to view a page with the english version of the quote, along with several other quotes by the same Chinese philosopher.
This man does not know it, but he’s been mentoring me remotely as I followed his progress, over the past 2 and a half decades.
As soon as I read this quote, I instantly knew it was what I needed to adopt to achieve the new plans I’ve been working on.
Before now, I periodically sensed a need to do what it advised but resisted the impulse each time mainly because I was not sure how to proceed.
Luckily for me, this great man chose not to be miserly in sharing the sources of his own inspiration. As a result, the rest of us benefit.
How I wish there was a way I could add value to him the way he has done to me and many thousand others who continue to benefit from the enduring solutions provided by his organisation.
For now, one way I know I can thank him is by succeeding in using this quote’s wisdom to implement my own evolving plans to start a centre that help others with solutions I offer.
PS: By the way, in case you’ve not discovered it yet, from clicking the above mentioned link to his website, this man that I have spoken so highly of in this article, is Father Godfrey Nzamujo – the Founder of the world renowned Songhai Integrated Farming centre, headquarted here in Benin Republic’s Porto Novo. He makes me proud to be African!