There has never been a greater time for us to be focused on cultivating leadership, right at ground roots level. Let’s face facts, strong, moral and ethical leadership is hard to come by in our modern day chaos. Where do we find these leaders. The leaders we yearn for and need so much!
Firstly, let’s define what a leader is exactly: A leader…I’m talking about a true leader, will take charge of a situation! True leaders will inspire those around them to take action. Most of all a leader identifies with their followers and serves them for the greater good, he lifts them up. A boss on the other hand, delegates. A boss will tell people what to do and then generally sits back and reaps the rewards for the tasks completed. A strong leader has the ability to take his followers to greatness and victory! On the flip side, a strong leader also has the ability to take his followers down a path of destruction and failure. That is why we have to be extremely careful who we vote into power, no matter how much charisma they may present.
Lets at three examples of STRONG leaders:
- Adolf Hitler – We can not deny he was a strong leader, albeit for all the wrong reasons. The perfect example of a strong leader that took his followers down a path of destruction. He had a strong authoritarian style of leadership. He managed to identify with the population and led them into a World War. We must apply caution and avoid when presented with such a leader. So often these hate filled leaders can blind us and lead us to destruction.
- Sir Winston Churchill – The counterpart of Hitler during World War 2. An inspirational leader that motivated his countrymen and the allies to fight back while their backs were against the wall. We have all heard murmurs from one of his famous speeches “we will fight them on the beaches”. A legendary leader that took control of a situation when it was needed most.
- Nelson Mandela – The Father of our Nation: A true charismatic leader that not only identified with his followers that supported him all those years that he was in prison, but also identified with those that had persecuted him and put him in jail. He won the hearts of hundreds of millions around the world, even more astonishingly he won the hearts of those that had persecuted him and they became his followers. A leader of leaders!
These are just three brief examples of strong leaders, only two of the three could be called moral and ethical though.
So, back to my question, where are the strong, moral and ethical leaders of our society? The fact of the matter is they truly seem in short supply! One look at the news and the media and the alarm bells start ringing!
The answer to the question, where are the leaders? It is in actual fact, very simple! I don’t believe the true leadership of our society is sitting in any government or parliament. The true strong, moral and ethical leaders are among us, in our daily lives. It is you! Reading this article! We all have the ability to encourage and inspire those around us. We all have the ability to identify with the people in our their lives, to push them and uplift them, to encourage them to achieve success, to guide them. Leaders make more leaders. It is our church leaders that guide us spiritually, our preschool teachers that are shaping the minds of our young children. Our real leaders are those that run community projects for no reward. It is our entrepreneurs that are creating jobs that put food on the table of families. It is those that step up to the plate when no one else will, even if its for a short period of time. The list goes on. All leaders are themselves followers too. These are the leaders I follow and I admire.
The time has come that we become the leaders again, the leaders of our families, our organisations and our communities. If we are to succeed as a society, while we need a strong and working government, we can not rely on it for everything in our life. We must stand up and take action where it counts. We must take responsibility for ourselves and our communities. One look at the news and the media and we see so much hate and negativity. We are inundated with “bad news”! It is all so demoralizing that it has become difficult to just conjure up the will power, never mind the courage to put yourself forward to lead and take responsibility.
So, where do we get started? Today I challenge you! Take a step back from all that hate, negativity, and dare I say evil we find in the media every single day. Start to look for the good in the world, look for the good in the people around you. Take people on face value. You will find, the world is a much better place than the perception we are fed. There is far more good, far more beauty than what we are been led to believe. When we do that, we will find the kindness in the world, the inner beauty of the people around us, from all walks of life, from all cultures and races. our mind set will start to change and our outlook will change. We become more positive about our society, our people. The magic will start to happen, we will start to influence the people around us! They will catch on, they will follow suit, and step by step we will make this world a better place. Once we do this we will be on the path achieve greatness and success! Go out out there, lead and inspire those around you! No matter how big or small your group is, lead with integrity and courage!
Why am I sending this message? My job, my passion, my purpose is to cultivate and encourage strong, moral and ethical leadership, it is to inspire the courage that is required at a time that it is needed most. It is for this reason I have launched the Day Pro – Lead & Inspire Initiative. I do inspirational keynote talks, workshops and youth programs designed to uplift, boost confidence and gently push(actually shove) people out of their comfort zone to a place that they truly want to be and should be! This is my mission, my commitment! If, after all is done, I only affect one person, make a difference in that persons life for the better, I have succeeded.
Now, more than anytime in modern day history has it been more important that goodwill and humanity stand strong and overcome the evils that are cast in our way on a daily basis. The Good and the Strong will always overcome!
Be Passionate, Be Relentless, Love Life
Bradley Day – bradleyday.net
Bradley Day 