This is a re-upload from 4 May 2020.

Not that he needs an introduction, but Herman Mashaba is the former mayor of Johannesburg and a South African with a tremendously inspirational history.

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"Mashaba was brought up in near-poverty in GaRamotse in Hammanskraal, Gauteng, by his sisters while his absent domestic-worker mother worked to provide for the family.

His older brother dropped out of school at 15, going from one unsubstantial job to another. Mashaba realised that acquiring an education would be crucial for him to break out of the cycle of poverty.

He graduated from high school but did not complete his tertiary education. From a young age, he was a strategic thinker - he bought a car without having a license and drove out of the dealership without ever having learned to drive. He drove himself from one selling job to another, in the process confirming for himself that he was a natural salesman with an unswerving instinct for business."

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Basically, he grew up during an oppressive system in a broken home, and overcame all of that by not letting go of his belief in God, self worth, and family values.

I’m not a fan of his current politics, but I am a fan of his story. Watch the conversation