Are You A Leader?

Why in the world would anyone want to be a leader?  Don’t we have enough leaders?  Don’t we have enough people “throwing their weight around?”  Don’t we have enough people who have assumed roles of responsibility and power?  I guess the answer to those questions depends upon your definition of a leader.

What is a leader?  There are a wide variety of definitions, but I like the one provided by F. John Rey who says, “A leader is a person who has a vision, a drive and a commitment to achieve that vision, and the skills to make it happen.”  "What Is A Leader"   For me, this hits the nail right on the head.  I believe it’s not enough to have a vision.  You must have the drive and commitment as well as the skills to make it happen.  In other words, the proof is in the pudding, so to speak.  Without results, your vision is just a dream.  Whether your vision is for personal success or one that is focused on the success of others, the best way to ensure that success is to see to it that everyone has an opportunity to recognize their unique potential.  John Dunne was right when he said, “No man is an island entire of itself, every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the whole.”  We are all in this together.

Here at Entrusted Legacy our vision is that every youth, no matter who he or she is, no matter what the circumstance of his or her birth, will have the positive role model and mentor needed to act as a guide and support system.  We believe that with the right role model and mentor, every youth can reach his or her full possibilities and will assume a rightful place of leadership for the next generation. 

We are committed to making this vision a reality, but to do so we need your help.  We believe that your leadership today will pave the way for the leaders of tomorrow, and with a nation full of leaders—people with a vision, the drive, commitment, and skills to make it happen, we are on a trajectory for sustained success as citizens of this country and the world.  Find out how you can help.  Visit our website at www.entrustedlegacy.org

A True Win-Win

We've heard it said that “people have the infinite capacity to wait to get even.”  Now when one first reads a statement like that the words that come to mind are revenge, retribution, payback, reprisal, and maybe even vengeance.  We immediately think about a time that we were wronged or belittled or underestimated and can conjure images not only of our own humiliated self but the perpetrators of those feelings.  In the book, Don’t Laugh at Me, the authors state, “Don’t laugh at me, don’t call me names.  Don’t gain your pleasure from my pain.” 

In the movie and novel, Time To Kill, there is a poignant scene in which the character prompts the jury to think about a heinous crime and then flips the scene for the jury to consider how they would feel if that story applied to someone they loved.  This notion of “flipping the context” works equally well with the quote above, “people have the infinite capacity to wait to get even.”  What if we put a positive spin on those words?  Did you have a role model?  Did you have a mentor that helped you to believe in the possibility of you?  Do you know, without a shadow of a doubt, that you are better off today because of that relationship?  Do you have the “infinite capacity to wait to get even?”  At Entrusted Legacy we are working hard to “get even” with all our mentors and role models.  We are committed to developing a critical mass by training and developing others to reach even more youth than we can reach on our own.

Go to our website at www.entrustedlegacy.org and exercise you capacity to “get even” with those who helped you by helping others.  Together the difference we can make is powerful!