Chasing the Light

Bill Clinton, one of the lights of my life, inspired me to run for a seat in the 2013 general elections. As it turned out, I failed to radiate the kind of charisma he had when he ran for congress at my age in 1974.

I later realized that was because I hadn't hit Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000-hour rule of mastery like Clinton had. You see, Bill Clinton became interested in politics at a young age.

During his high school years, he visited the White House, where he shook hands with President Kennedy. And when he enrolled at Georgetown University in 1964, he was elected class president for two consecutive years.

Over the holidays, he went back to his home state of Arkansas to campaign for local candidates, an experience that familiarised him with the political landscape of the state where he began his political career several years later.

Towards the end of his Georgetown years, he applied for the prestigious Rhodes scholarship and wrote in his essay that he wanted to study at Oxford to "mold an intellect that could stand the pressures of political life." He won.

After a two-year stint at Oxford where he read hundreds of books, he flew back to the U.S. and pursued a law degree at Yale. He campaigned for George McGovern, the 1972 Democratic Party presidential nominee, during his time at Yale.

By the time he was running for congress in his 20s, he had hit Gladwell's 10,000-hour rule of mastery. No wonder he radiated charisma at that age. It's like what Josphat Mwaura, former director of Starehe Boys' Centre, said:

Success in life depends on your faith and beliefs, on your revealed purpose, on your passion, on your hard work and on your persistence till excellence and promise are delivered.

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Also check out "The Clinton Comeback Spirit".