Why he Tattooed His Face

At the doorway, way across the crowded room, a late entrant to the party caught my eye – his face had a tattoo that was a permanent mask across an olive-skinned, well-chiseled face, framed by locks of Grecian cascading curls. Momentarily entranced, I gasped inwardly, captivated by this uniqueness. My first thought was ‘What on earth is his topic?’ While my second one was ‘I must get a photo of him!’

The Speakers’ Welcome Cocktail was abuzz with bonhomie. Old friends greeted each other heartily, new friends made warm, enthusiastic connections – goodwill simply spilled over with rapturous joy! Oh it was such a good feeling to be among international colleagues from 17 different countries across the globe, some of whom I’d only heard about and were ‘Learning & Development’ legends in their own right. And yes, I confess that I was happily enjoying the attention given to my professional niche too. But who was that speaker with the unique personal brand?

Ngahihi O Te Ra Bidois’ topic was ‘Ancient Wisdom Modern Solutions’. Interesting enough, but it did nothing to prepare his audience of 500 regional Human Resource professionals for what he had to say. The ballroom was packed; many were standing, and you could’ve heard a pin drop. No, this was no attempt to capitalize on tribal lore and turn it into Management Theory. The tattoo was barely 5 years old, and was a bold and determined proclamation of his purpose in life!

It shouted out his commitment to live out his beliefs: to answer the challenge ‘What do you weep for?’ and to do something about it. They embraced his core Purpose, which had been exposed when he crashed from “winner to loser”. At rock bottom (having plunged from the heights of financial success and social status) a teacher had challenged him to look into his soul and respond to its cry. So he did. His challenge to us was to do the same – search inward and be courageous enough to live out our innermost callings. My soul was moved to tears.

The symmetrical patterns from his ear to his chin declared that he had decided to rise to the challenges of leadership and speak out to direct people and mentor them. He had subjected himself to being tattooed Maori style from 8pm to 4am (!!!!!) to permanently declare that he had decided to courageously pursue his purpose and destiny i.e. to make his people - whose plight made him weep - and not profits, his bottom line. The tattoo was that of a leader of a tribe, signifying Ngahi would henceforth lead his people as his first priority. The profits had followed when he pursued his purpose.

Coincidentally, the day after hearing him I was a studio guest on the television series ‘Be Brave’ and had to respond impromptu to some very uncomfortably pointed questions. No doubt what Ngahi had said had seeped into my candid answers. I had come away from the Conference knowing that attitude triumphs over circumstance. And, I recalled another warrior against circumstances declaring to his world that “Faith and Courage bring Destiny”, with similar conviction. Thank you – both of you, for fortifying my own determination to achieve my core purpose!