Aung San Suu Kyi - A Choice Between Family and Country

By Kris Deichler, Associate Partner, Lighthouse International

Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of a Burmese Army General who helped win freedom from the Japanese after World War II and went on to negotiate independence from Britain. Her father was assassinated before colonial rule ended and little Suu Kyi fled the country with her mother to India and then Britain.

She returned to Burma in 1988 and became the face of the democratic movement against what was then an oppressive and corrupt military regime. After a year of political activity, she was placed under house arrest which famously lasted 15 years and separated her from her British husband and children.

Here’s a clip from the 2011 film “The Lady” by Luc Besson that may give you an idea of how difficult this was...

We’re not all freedom fighters, but we do face hard decisions between things that are important to us. It’s never easy, but when we’re clear on what ultimately matters most and we have people around us who we trust and can advise us, it makes it a lot easier, just like Suu Kyi’s husband did in her case.

To really achieve our goals, we need to have the discipline to make sacrifices. The sacrifices legends make to build the lives they want are not often shown publicly, but it's a key element of success in life. If we want to spend more time with our children we may need to sacrifice work or if we want to build a global business we may have to sacrifice having the security of a salary for a time. It's a trait all legends have, the willingness to give things up wisely, for the right reasons...

For more on Aung San Suu Kyi, here’s a 5 minute video of how she is approaching the 2015 elections in Burma...

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