I often look back at times in my life where I questioned myself and if indeed I was born a leader or would I have to live my life in the shadow of fear. I remember never volunteering for any activities or never becoming a team captain in school, and more importantly I remember being afraid of the unknown and what would happen in the years to come. That might be you today, or you yesterday but ultimately at some point in our lives, we all have been afraid and unsure but what makes us change?
Are we born with leadership in us or perhaps it is a skill we acquire with time and experience?
When I think back of those times and my experiences to date, I often question what it was specifically that made me change and enabled me to overcome that fear of the unknown. I will take you to a different level of thinking today and challenge you to overcome your fears and awaken the leader found within yourself.
Think of your life being at stake, think of your body hanging at the edge of a cliff with no cord, support or safety and that the only way to survive is to pull yourself up. Think of that adrenaline that pumps through your body when put in a situation where danger is imminent or even before a fight. That energy that manifests itself without control is simply because your body is self aware of the danger and is the ultimate power in overcoming fear which ultimately enables you to unleash you true leadership potential. I talked about how to use adrenaline to overcome fear in my book “Stay Poor: The Millionaire Mindset” but today I want to show you how leaders are born and made.
When we are at stake, our body and mind work together to increase our ability to a level above and beyond what we previously thought possible. A simple example would be if you have never been able to do a single pull up but are easily able to pull yourself up from the cliff’s edge. It does so when it realizes that there is no choice but to succeed and therefore will work to its most amazing ability to make this happen and get out of being at stake. There are other situations like maybe not meeting your goals in sales and your boss informs you that you will lose your job if you don’t meet your quota therefore putting you at stake and forcing you to be successful.
Being at stake and being forced to survive is what awakens the leadership trait inside all of us. We awaken this quality by being put at stake and suddenly see the world from a different perspective and feel that boost of self confidence as our understanding of life and our surroundings change. This particular change is only temporary as it is necessary to our survival but unfortunately is not necessarily consistent and in place for the long run. Those of us that understand they have been awakened and understand the self power they unleashed learn to captivate that and use it to grow rather than survive. This leads to accelerated growth and a position of leadership in your own mind, in which case you ultimately lead your life instead of letting it ride along its circumstance. This is how leaders are made…
When you hear of successful people, or read people’s success stories… you often hear of misfortune first before any type of wealth. You might hear someone was poor, or someone couldn’t walk, which goes back to being at stake. If someone cannot eat or have money to live they are more likely to seek change and results as their lives depends on it and therefore creates a sense of immediate urgency. This sense of urgency is what differentiates leader from followers as they do not wait for opportunity, they simply look for it and act upon it quickly.
How do you awaken the leader in you?
Well, its a bit difficult and risky but as I always say “The biggest risk of all is to not take a risk”. The concept is simply putting yourself at stake in various ways that motivate you to work harder because you have no choice but to win. There are ways you can do this financially but they are risky as self discipline is key. You could buy a home that stretches your budget a bit just to PUSH yourself to look for more opportunities and also control your spending. This would not only push you to live in a better place and reach that life you want BUT would also enable you to become a better spender, saver and money maker. All of which will remain with you even if you are not at stake and do not own a property you can barely afford. This strategy of putting yourself in odd situations that will push you hard is one that works but is also one that can backfire if you are not ready and committed to yourself. Bottom line, you must figure out a way for YOU to put yourself in that uncomfortable zone and want nothing more than to get out of it.
So leaders are neither born or made but they are simply awakened.
