Do you know why you can't teach a fish to swim? Do you also know why you can't teach a monkey to climb or grimace? Well, it's because they are both in their biotope, in their ecosystem, in an environment that encourages their full development and the expression of their full potential. They are free. It's the same for everyone, whatever field they choose to invest themselves in. We all have innate gifts and potential, we all have innate talents, but these talents need to find themselves in a specific environment with precise conditions in which to blossom in order to make our existence worthwhile.
Is it possible for a seed to germinate on a rock, in a desert or in a stony field? I don't think so. On the other hand, a seed sown in a well-tilled field would flourish better. What does that mean? We are the result or the fruit that our environment has produced. We are what our routine habits have engendered; from our nuclear family to our professional family or even in society as a whole. Our life is a mosaic to be built piece by piece, an edifice to be erected brick by brick. But how can we do this without losing our feathers if we don't have the support of those who have gone before us? A scholar once said ‘the intelligent man learns from his mistakes, but the wise man learns from the mistakes of others’. It's obvious that we can't climb steps without making mistakes, we can't reach a significant level of influence without having stumbled at least once. Fatality occurs when we allow our failures and missteps to ground us.
Personal growth and personal or professional success is a long journey, made up of all the contradictions and above all, the burdens, but it is our lucidity and boldness that will play a major role in our blossoming or our death. To make these things true, there are men for whom these are no longer just aspirations or desires, but a vocation and a call to serve humanity. Through their journeys, they are tracing out paths that should be followed by the vast majority who are lost in their search for their bearings. Dr Raoul Ruben, a name whose echoes create a certain enthusiasm and goodwill in many people who see him as an inspiration, a model of success and above all an apostle of change.
He is the founder and head of Academy Twenty One, an organisation that he has skilfully set up with the help of international leaders, to encourage and instil in each individual a desire to succeed by meticulously following the programme they have devised to shorten the process that will lead them to success and freedom of any kind. He recently unveiled his tour programme, a full and well-elucidated programme that will run for six months, the tone of which was set in Pointe Noire in the Congo. On Saturday 12 October, he held a masterly A21 ORIENTATION, the only A21 seminar to unveil the raison d'être, the vision and above all the mission of this futuristic organisation. He took the opportunity to reiterate the 16 PRINCIPLES OF A21, which form the backbone of this community. These principles are as follows
1- Love
2- Investment
3- The Learner's Attitude
4- Attendance and participation in A21 activities
5- Reading books recommended by A21
6- No crossline
7- Discipline
8- Edification
9- Protection
10- Consultation
11- Humility
12- Commitment
13- Integrity
14- Gratitude
15- Green Attitude
16- Duplication
These principles are far from mere statements, but they do constitute a philosophy and a lifestyle that is unique to Academy Twenty One. Better still, they are the grail of this fine organisation, which aims to be an incubator for entrepreneurship and business in tune with the demands of our century. And who better to carry this great vision and this great priesthood than Dr Raoul Ruben, this tireless worker and Globe-Trotter who has promised not to stop until he has seen this great project take shape. Everyone would do well to take their place within this community, whose ambition knows no finish line and no limits.