How do you know when you are ready to lead your life?

From the outside, it appears to be a straightforward undertaking. Despite the fact that everyone declares they will remain on the ship even if the worst-case scenario occurs, what happens when events bring about the worst-case situation? Is it truly worth it to us to stay on that ship and engage in another battle? Either that, or we succumb to the horror that has gripped us at the time and turn aside. What level of preparedness do you believe the United States has for such conflict? In such tough times, how many people can say, "I am here, I am with you" or "I am here, I am here to help you" or "I am here, I am here to support you"?

Today, I'd want to speak with you on the issue of leadership, so please bear with me. To be honest, it's been on my mind and in my heart to put together a "series" on leadership topics, therefore I'm now working on it. I was thinking about leadership the other day and a series of papers on the subject came to me. I came to realise that leadership is a "high" concept for us. It is possible that we will not be able to incorporate it into our lives, or that we will do so but will be ignorant of it. Perhaps, if we put forth more effort, we will be a whole lot happier... I would want to undertake a leadership evaluation with you in order to better understand your strengths and weaknesses...

Let's simplify leadership by removing it from the concept of managing a firm and bringing it down to the present and everyday life in general. Bring leadership down from where we see "higher" and place it in that contentious phase, that drowsy state, when we're conflicted between waking up and not being able to get up this morning.

No doubt about it: we are always the ones in charge of our own lives. What is the procedure? We will be able to earn more money if we decide to get up an hour earlier this morning and potentially take care of our bodies by engaging in sports during that hour, perhaps by making time for our breakfast that we had skipped, perhaps by treating ourselves a little more lavishly. We may spend this hour educating ourselves in order to develop a recreational activity.

Let us now turn our attention to a different type of leadership situation. Some of us may have options when we leave work today; some of us may choose to spend three hours with our friends (sometimes even just to pass the time!) while others may choose to go to the movies. And some of us may decide to work a second job in order to save money for a vacation planned for next summer, don't you think?

“So where is the leadership in all of this?” you might wonder. In the flames of our hearts, in the value we try to add to life, in the conviction that we can make at least one person smile other than ourselves, in the success of discovering that we are not alone in life and that there is a purpose, a meaning for our arrival in this world, whatever it is that we were sent to give here... For a "moment," leadership can only share while drinking tea and eating a bagel, the leadership can aim to help a needy person more or less regardless of what happens, the leadership can afford to be five minutes late to feed a starving animal for a "moment," and so on and so forth....

What are you waiting for to take control of your life right now? Then, may you find the most beautiful and appealing one among them...

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