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The Gandhi Button

January 10, 2000

"Almost everyone is familiar with the story of Gandhi.  Movies, books, speeches, and anecdotes about Gandhi have immortalized his impact on history.  Despite this familiarity, most are still amazed by how one man, one relatively ordinary man, brought an empire to its knees.  Perhaps the change that occurred in India was inevitable.  Maybe Gandhi was merely the facilitator, the catalyst for social breakthrough.  But the fact is that one person decided that the world had to change and, in the end, the world changed.  Gandhi was educated, and he had skills, but he also had faults and limitations like all of us.  Retrospective analysis would suggest that he took a stand at the right time, and during his fight, some things went his way.  But it wasn't luck, brilliance, power, or even a miracle that made the difference; it was commitment.  One ordinary person, armed with commitment, changed a country and then the world.  One ordinary person through persistence and determination, altered the course of history, principally because he decided that it had to be done and he was the guy to do it (Barthelemy, 1997, pp.98-99)."

Reference:  Barthelemy, B. (1997).  The sky is not the limit.  Boca Raton, FL: St. Lucie Press.

What are you doing to change the world?

The Sky is Not the Limit is available on loan from the OSU Leadership Center.  A complete listing of all the Leadership Center's resources is available on our website www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~leaders

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Created: 2009-01-02, Updated: 2009-01-12