Involuntary command

People say leadership takes great skill, but it isn't really true. Not if you know what leadership really is. Another thing that people say is that there are two kinds of people, followers and leaders. And this is not really true either.

Being a leader is about living your life in a way that others wish to emulate it. When you are making choices and decisions that others wish to emulate, they follow you. When others live their lives in a way that you wish to have your life run, you follow them. Being a leader does not require any skill whatsoever. And during the course of your life, as you observe others and others observe you, you will naturally and quite often rapidly shift from being one to being the other.

Great men throughout history were not great because they had legions of worshipful admirers. They were great because the choices that they made and actions that they took resonated positively with those around them.  Jesus, Gandhi, William Wallace, Abraham Lincoln, Alexander the Great, in fact all historical leaders and successful public figures have led their lives in ways that others wanted to be like them. Very few if any ever set out specifically to amass a following. They simply said and did the things that they felt needed saying and doing, and the masses arrived anyway.

And whether you like it or not you are a leader. There are areas of your life in which you are the expert, the "one" that knows and other people will naturally take heed and follow your advice in these areas. There are times that you are probably not even aware of where other people look to you for advice and direction. Even if you do not see yourself as a leader it still happens.  Maybe in the form of a small child not knowing any better following your example of how to tie their shoe or ride a bike. Or perhaps a person seeing how happy you and your spouse are asking for relationship advice. Our experiences in life are all unique. They help make us who we are. And those experiences are tools that enable us to teach others, to literally light their way, when they appear to be lost in darkness.

I used to not want to be a leader. The idea bothered me greatly. I am a simple man and thought it would be better if others would make their own decisions and leave me alone. My desire to be left alone though had no bearing on their desire to be around me and for awhile it was quite frustrating. Over time, I have learned that my experiences with life and the thoughts,decisions and actions that I have made as a result of them, have made me a person that most of the people that I come in contact with want to spend more time around. For awhile I did not know why and people had a hard time verbalizing it. They would say there was just an energy that they liked. I know now, that what they were describing was that I have qualities that they want in their life. And now that I know that, I can focus energy on learning what it is that they like and want to emulate and giving them more and better ideas on how to do so.

Not everyone is going to influence as many people as Jesus or Alexander the Great. But we are all leaders in our own way whether we want to be or not. Embrace your personal power.