by Ren La Porte
Are you where you want to be in life? What are your goals? Did you achieve them? What have been the challenges? Did you overcome them or are you still striving? What keeps you striving? What motivates you? This blog provides you with motivation to thrive!
‘A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action makes your dreams come true.’
(Greg Reid)
Motivation can be directed towards yourself (self-motivation) and towards others. Being able to motivate and inspire others is part of being a great communicator. The following are four people who, as great achievers, demonstrated the power of motivation.
NELSON MANDELA
Nelson Mandela spent nearly 30 years imprisoned for opposing South Africa’s apartheid system. These confines did not deter him in his cause. He held on to his beliefs, his learning and motivation.
Nelson’s patience and persistence paid off: After being released, he was elected as President of South Africa. Nelson Mandela went on to motivate his country into a peaceful non-racial democracy. In his mid-70’s Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
COLONEL SANDERS (KFC)
Sanders was remembered as:
‘..a brilliant man with a gourmet flair for food, a visionary and a great motivator, with the style of a showman and the discipline of a Vince Lombardi.’
Harland David Sanders did not start to franchise his fried chicken recipe until after the age of 65. He had gone through many trials and tribulations throughout life. These included: the great depression, the second world war, a fire and the construction of a new interstate road (reducing customer traffic to his motel/restaurant).
Each time he was met with a challenge, he had to reinvent methods of survival. He visited countless restaurants throughout the United States selling his product and negotiating terms. His motivation to keep going eventually paid off and the franchise chain gained momentum, Sanders spent the last 20 years of his life revisiting stores and working as a brand ambassador.
LESLEY GILESPIE
Lesley Gillespie is an Australian woman who co-created Bakers Delight. This bakery chain has approximately 700 stores throughout Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. Lesley began this pathway working at the Old Style Bread Centre (now Brumbies) whilst studying to become a teacher. Whilst teaching, she and her husband and a partner (Gary Stephenson) started the first bakery store in Hawthorne, Victoria.
After purchasing the partners share, the bakery became a family business. Through a great deal of motivating stakeholders, employees and investment agencies, the business grew to include the many stores that are in operation today.
Currently, Lesley sits on the board of Institute of Public Affairs, Loreto Toorak, the Philanthropic Advisory Committee for the World Mosquito Program and Change It For Good at Monash University. She also is a board member for The Australian Business Growth Fund and on the Business School Advisory Board for Swinburne University of Technology. She excels in motivating others and assists many university students through her operations.
TILLY ASTON
Tilly was 64 when she wrote a book ‘Gold from Old Diggings’, which was reproduced in the Bendigo Advertiser. She stated that her book ‘The Inner Garden’ was her best work of poetry, and this was written when she was 67. Tilly had overcome many challenges – she had been fully blind since age seven.
Tilly was entered into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2001 for her contribution to the Blind. Tilly founded the Victorian Association of Braille Writers and the Association for the Advancement of the Blind. Tilly’s motivational skills have left a legacy of hope for many people unable to see.
LOOKING TO MOTIVATE YOURSELF OR OTHERS?
The above are just four amazing people that embraced motivation, overcame challenges and rose to achieve success. There are many others both in our past and our present.
You can enhance your Motivational Strategies through Toastmasters. Toastmaster has a dedicated set of modules to build motivation skills. If you see yourself speaking confidently with teams, communicating to inspire and climbing the ladder to your dreams, contact us!
What does the course information entail? Find our here.
REFERENCES
- Nelson Mandela – President of South Africa. Britannica (2025). https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nelson-Mandela
- Colonel Sanders. (2025). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Sanders
- Leslie Gillespie. (2025). Monash University. https://www.monash.edu/science/alumni/our-alumni/lesley-gillespie
- Victorian Honour Roll of Women. (2025). Wikepedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_Honour_Roll_of_Women
- ThinkRight. (2020). Most Motivational Speech | Best Inspirational Speech by Nelson Mandela. [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iARBOcpwPik&t=3s
- Tilly Aston. (2025). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilly_Aston
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