The stories of music icon Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse and Orlando Pirates legend Bernard "Shoes" Lushozi are some of the inspirational narratives that need to be embraced by everyone  who aspires to change their lives for the better.

At the ripe age of 60, considered by many to be retirement age, Hotstix went back to school to get his matric certificate.

While others may scoff at the idea of acquiring qualifications at that age, it is the words of Dr Myles Munroe that should set straight: "Retirement is never a concept in the minds of world changers."

This award-winning musician never rested on his laurels as he went on to achieve that which must have been worrying him for so long.

He didn't go where the path led him but chose, instead, to go where there was no path to leave a trail for others to follow him. We should all follow an example set by him, especially those of us who never completed our studies.

Similarly, the news of Lushozi obtaining his PhD from the University of Pretoria, despite his later life blindness, is like sweet music to the ears. His academic achievement has dispelled the myth that "soccer and  academia do not share a bed".

Another intellectual, Thomas Carlyle, once said: "What we become depends on what we read after all of the professors have finished with us. The greatest university of all is the collection of books."

It's Nelson Mandela who summed up Steve Biko's statement best when he said that: "It is only when you get on top of the mountain that you realise that there are many other beautiful mountains to climb."

It is better to try and fail than to excel at nothing!

Samuel Radebe, Heilbron