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By Michael Angier I have a theory
as to why REAL political leaders seem in such short supply. Politicians have at their disposal an abundance of
opinion polls. Instead of someone who aspires to high office
speaking his or her own mind, they speak what they think is the mind
of the voters. They want to be sure that what they have to offer is
politically popular or at least not politically unpopular. In days of old, there were no speechwriters … our
leaders wrote their own speeches. You could pretty much count on
what someone was saying as being their own beliefs. Now, you never
know if what a speaker is saying is their own or some clever words
crafted by a witty speechwriter. It's extremely rare to find someone willing to
share his or her own thoughts or who has much to offer in the way of
original thinking. Most of today's so-called leaders lack
authenticity, and people sense it. Winston Churchill once said, "The people cannot
look up to a leader who has his ear to the ground". Leaders by
definition should LEAD not follow. Originality and individuality are two of the
hallmarks of true leadership. I don't have to agree with someone in
order to respect them as a leader. If they feel strongly about some-
thing and I get that they truly believe in what they're saying, I'll
at least listen intently and consider seriously what they have to
say. When someone's telling the truth … speaking from
the heart with strong feeling … it's almost impossible to be bored. There's a Bible phrase that I've found easy to
remember: "Be hot or cold, but if you be lukewarm, I will spew thee
out of my mouth." Strong words, indeed. What I get from it is, be
one way or the other. Being middle-of-the -road doesn't work. The
guy who gets my attention is the one who feels strongly about
something. The one who has an original approach has the makings of a
leader. When we mouth the words of someone else or speak
what we think others want to hear, we relinquish our power. We just
add more noise to the world. When we speak from the heart with
strong feeling and our own thinking, we stand out from the crowd. Think of the art world. Which has more value, the
original painting or the reproduction? The answer is the original,
of course. Reproductions don't even come close to equaling
the value of the original. There can only be one original painting
and there is only one original you. It's up to each of us to uncover
and develop our originality and uniqueness. In doing so, we have
more to offer. Our society tends to promote sameness and
commonness. Our schools do their best to make us conform and become
more and more like the others. The free spirit is often ostracized.
Our employers and our coworkers don't encourage our being different.
Often, our attempt to be humble actually thwarts our specialness.
And yet almost everything in us cries out to be different and
special. The word "original" comes from the root word
origin. And origin is the thing from which anything comes, the
starting point or source. Thus, cultivating our originality is only
a matter of going back to whence we came … our spirit or God-force. We may all come from the same source, but we all
express our originality in different ways. It's up to each of us to
discover our own uniqueness, or own inner splendor. Only in doing so will we actualize our true
potential and affect our purpose in the world
About the author: Michael
Angier is the founder of
www.SuccessNet.org Please visit his website to learn more about
Michael and his commitment to the well-being and success of others.
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Authenticity
and Originality