Essential Reflections: Reuel Jethro Mbhayimbhayi Khoza is a collection of interviews with Reuel by people wishing to know more about him, and his reflections on his journey, his accomplishments, his philosophy on being and what this means to South Africa. It is not that South Africans do not know Reuel, but essentially because he has had such a profound and far-reaching impact on the lives of most South Africans, in business, public life and academia, and essentially on the transformation journey that South Africa undertook in 1994. Someone, and in this instance, it happened to be the late Professor Muxe Nkondo, had to express a need for Reuel's philosophy and reflections on life and experiences. These could best be expressed in interviews with Reuel himself rather than in a biography as, in the words of Nkondo, “biographies tend to be preoccupied with chronology and the sequence of events, and do not allow for the communication of ideas and experiences.” This is because Reuel's multi-dimensional contributions and success are confounding to anyone who reflects on the great contributions to South Africa by South Africans. This is essentially so, in circumstances where ‘heroic deeds’ have been limited to the domain of politics to our chagrin. Reuel transcends politics and that is why his success confounds many. Were he not my long-standing close friend, I would also be confounded, but I am not; not because his personality and achievements do not confound me, but because I have come to understand and appreciate the person in Reuel. Understandably, I will comment on Reuel's reflections selectively, as space will not allow for a full repertoire.