Leading the Army of Today...Shaping the Army of Tomorrow

Welcome to the most intensive training ever experimented by mankind…its name is LIFE! And we are the soldiers of life. We will encounter many battles, challenges and changes during this time…and the only way to obtain victory is to beat the ‘man’ to empower the soldier, the leader, within us. Even the most sophisticated weapons, advanced science and modern technology won’t assure us success. By now we should know, this isn’t a contest, a parade, nor a testing center to get an ‘A+’- we are here to discover our ‘self’ to be the leader of our own destiny in life.

Some believe…we either follow or lead, or simply get out of the way. I refuse to support this thought- I truly believe we’re destined to be leaders, if not of many, for sure, of our own life. So, what makes a leader? Peter Drucker said “Leadership is not a magnetic personality- that can just as well be a glib tongue. It’s not making friends and influencing people- that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, the rising of a person’s performance to higher standards, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations”.

We all possess different knowledge, capacity, and abilities; therefore, the universe has more than enough light for each of us to shine. Only losers, not even followers, allow envy and selfishness to find home in their hearts. So, if we want to be leaders, we have to start by seeking the best for those we serve. Oh, so leadership isn’t about being privileged? No it isn’t. It’s more about others and less about us. The first thing that a soldier learns is never to leave another soldier behind. Who are we leaving behind? The ones who suffer and cry, the hungry, the sick, the less fortunate, the oppressed, the weak, etc, etc.

It’s easier to choose to be and to do something else while we are here- but the nature and calling of this training is for leaders. This is why there is great necessity in the world- because necessities call forth leaders. Leadership is the only intangible weapon that can assist us in overcoming battles, challenges and changes, while serving others. By the way, ‘others’ is anyone and everyone- from the people we care for and appreciate- to those we’ve never seen but exist, or we might consider our enemies.

If we ever feel like giving up and running away- we must remember our ideals because this is where we’ll find strength and purpose for our leadership. In leadership, there are tough decisions to be made- if we want to master the power of decision making- we must develop it from practice. If we look around and we don’t like what we see- we must know, there are no bad troops, only bad leaders. And we are the leaders.

It’s not enough for the world to know that we are a soldier of life…we must live our leadership with competence and not rank. By serving, making a difference and touching lives- we lead the army of today and shape the army of tomorrow.

E-mail Author: Diana BenAvides is a Florida based writer/author and this is one of her patented creation, published with consent.