Darren Hardy - Monday, March 9, 2009 17:20 - 4 Comments

Leadership: The Great Calling of Life–The Grand Challenge for Us All

What does it mean to be a leader?

Leaders are those who can turn a struggling, ragtag army freezing at Valley Forge into a force that topples an empire. Leaders are people who reach out to friends in pain to help them topple their fears and recapture their confi dence. A leader can take a nation engaged in civil war and help unite the factions. A leader can also help save a struggling marriage or warring family.

A leader can cast a vision and challenge a nation to achieve something seemingly impossible—even as audacious as putting a man on the moon. A leader can also cast a vision for a startup company that inspires a small group of people working in a garage to ultimately revolutionize an industry and forever change how we live.

Whether leading a nation, a multibillion-dollar corporation, a small sales team or a family, the qualities of a leader are the same. A leader instills confidence and helps people become more than they are. Leaders illuminate the path for others to journey forward, farther than they thought possible by themselves.

“Leaders illuminate the path for others to journey forward, farther than they thought possible by themselves.”

Whether we know it or not, we are all leaders. At every moment, everyone around us is watching our example. That is why it is important to make sure your example is one to reach for rather than one to be warned by. I think leadership is the great calling of life, the grand challenge for us all.

Leadership is not to hold power over others or to illuminate our own greatness; quite the opposite, in fact. I believe the most important responsibility of leadership is to Continue…