Sometimes the circumstances look all wrong.
Circumstances can really fool us. Along with our emotions, they can be some of the biggest roadblocks to where we actually want to go. Do you ever wish you had more of something before you take another step in your plan? Could you fulfill a dream if you had more money? Would you really take a step toward a project which would significantly change your life if you had more time? If you just had more energy, you would attempt more. My favorite line in the advertising business is: If we just had a big inflatable gorilla, we would sell more cars!
Guess what?
All the money in the world can make your rich, and all the power in the world can make you strong, and all the time in the world can free you up, but these things can never make you a leader.
Circumstances are nothing. Passion and commitment are everything.
It’s amazing what you actually have at your disposal once you decide and are committed. People who cut the cord and know there’s no going back really accomplish great things. Working without a net is very empowering. I had a client who I once asked this question: Do you really have to make this work? The answer: No, I could go back to my job. That really IS the answer. People who believe there is no going back are very committed and empowered.
The crazy world of the 21st Century has plunged us into scenarios where there is no going back. The thing is, most folks haven’t had this realization yet. The conditions we are now facing in the world, whether global or local, demand the highest quality of leadership our generation can produce. We begin as leaders by leading ourselves. We use the thoughts and words of leadership rather than the language of victimhood. Leaders shape their environment. They experience life and maximize it. Life doesn’t happen “to them”.
Leadership is actually a role one plays, rather than a life one leads.
Have you found your role?
Are you the hero that is determined to help social causes and make the world a better place by being involved with as many people as possible, helping them in as many ways as you can shoulder?
Are you the person is trying to preserve as much of a system as possible that you believe deeply in when the world is so full of change?
Are you the person who is out to make sure that our economy is strengthened and help make sure that every bit of resource used brings a useful return?
Are you on a quest for truth? Helping expand the scope of knowledge in a particular field which you can then teach to others?
Are you immersed with shaping the overall environment for yourselves and others, determined to morph everything in an aestheticallypleasing pattern?
Are you an individualist who is taking on the entire system, imagining yourself David pitted against the mighty Goliath, having surety that your cause will prevail?
These are the types of roles that empower leaders to new successes. What leadership role are you playing?
Leadership is not an act, it’s a role.
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