Just Another Fantastic Day in Cape Town

This morning was our community group’s WOW morning- Now, I’m not exactly sure what that means, but I’m guessing it’s just a reason to get people up in front of the group and professors and speakers and have us make fools of ourselves. Or maybe just to pump everyone up? Have a good morning laugh to start the day out right? Get us out of our comfort zones? I dunno. Doesn’t matter, really- it was fun! We made up a Global L.E.A.D. song to Smash Mouth’s “All Star.”

Today we had the honor of having Vince and Barbara Dooley visit with us and speak in class. They were absolutely fantastic speakers – charming, engaging, witty, genuine, and just all around enjoyable to listen to. Mr. Vince Dooley started us out talking about some of the things he’s learned about leadership through the years as UGA’s football coach among other things. His main points included the acronym P.R.I.D.E. and he was sure to specify not the kind of pride that crosses the line into arrogance.

P is for preparation. As one team member put it- “proper preparation prevents poor performance,” the 5 P’s. R is for risk. His example of risk was UGA hiring him at age 31 to come be the athletic director. He said he and Barbara realized years later that they were the only two people who thought that was a “good hire.” I is for integrity. It is the most important thing to have and it just takes one small move to ruin it and you may never be able to get it back. D is for drive and determination. Mr. Dooley taught us that drive and determination are more important than talent. He noted that amongst some of the most successful people in the arts, sciences, sports, etc., usually were not the most talented in their family. It was their drive that set them apart and allowed them to be great. E is for everybody. This is where working together and truly being a team comes into play. It really was such an inspiring lecture (if you want to call it that). Mr. Dooley colored his speaking with splashes of funny stories about football, life in general, and his wife- his inspiration he says. How sweet is that?

Moving on to Mrs. Barbara Dooley, she seemed to be such a witty, wise, positive, strong, and well-grounded sweetheart of a lady. I only hope that I can have her great attitude and outlook on life. She spoke mainly about overcoming obstacles- both the kind you can control and the kind you can’t do anything about. And her philosophy is that it all depends on one thing- your attitude. Attitude is really the only thing we can control. For example, she had breast cancer and remained positive throughout the chemo and radiation. She said once she saw the look of terror on her kids’ faces, she knew she would have to be strong and positive through the whole process.

A couple pieces of her advice include: everything you do has a ripple effect on your family, hit any obstacles you meet head-on, and never stop working on relationships.

For the rest of the day we’re free to do whatever. As for my roomies and I, we will be resting, grocery shopping, doing yoga, and going to dinner at Mama Africa. Just another fantastic day in Cape Town!

-- Laurie Jackson