"A good leader inspires others with confidence in him/her; a great leader inspires them with confidence in themselves." ~ Mike Jones
A great mother reads to her kids and inspires those kids to want to read and learn on their own. A great teacher does the same. They inspire confidence in children, letting them know that the sky is the limit and that nothing can nor should hold them back - not their gender, their race, their stature, nor their financial situation. They provide learning materials. Where there does not seem to be a way, they help their kids find a way to improve their lives. That's what great leaders do.
A great boss shows his subordinates that he is not afraid of hard work himself. And he gives his employees the opportunity to learn and grow, even if it means that they will eventually leave his company for a better job. That's what great leaders do.
A great political leader does not present gloom and doom as not only the food of the day but of the banquets of tomorrow. He or she is honest about today's situation, but offers hope for tomorrows because he offers real solutions. He lets people know that mere hoping is not enough, but that action is required to fulfill one's dreams. He welcomes the ideas of the people whom he serves. He listens to the ones he serves, all of them, not just a select few. That's what great leaders do.
All great leaders are like that. They are honest about the fact that succeeding in anything - in school, in jobs, in marriages - requires much more than mere hoping. It requires hard work. And a true leader makes sure that opportunities for learning and growing, and then opportunities for that hard work, are available.
Hope is not about cheerleading. Hope is not about sugar-coating what is or what could be. It's also not about demonizing what is or what could be. It is all about being honest about what is and about what will or will not come to pass if situations don't change.
A great parent does not create a home life that so shelters his/her young that they don't get the opportunity to learn, to grow, to take risks.
Great parents, teachers, bosses, and political leaders do not tell their charges verbally or by insinuation that they are not capable beings, not capable of reasoning, of thinking or of succeeding. They don't call them names. They don't make fun of them.
With every program thrown at Americans, it is insinuated that they are not capable beings. With every demonizing word against the "rich", the idea is planted in people's minds that having money and succeeding in life is a bad thing and allowing the government to control them and to feed them and house them is a good thing. Great leaders do not do this.
It's time, America, to find better leaders.
If parents are failing - and many are - it's time for us to offer mentoring programs so that they can learn to be better parents and to prepare their children to succeed.
If teachers are failing - and many are - it's time for us to remind them that it's not all about unions and money, but about the students. More money for supplies and school programs are not what counts. (More money for their benefits is certainly not important to the success of the children.) Our children need teachers who inspire them to greatness, and that doesn't require money, it requires great teachers who care.
If business leaders are failing - and many are - it's time for our schools and colleges to offer better understanding of what is required to succeed. And it's time for employers to offer programs of enrichment for their employees, so that things like good customer service are not a thing of the past and employee/employer loyalty are enhanced.
And if our political leaders are failing - and so many are - then it's time for We The People to find others who understand that when they take an oath to uphold the Constitution, that's what their service to us requires. It may be against the law to require voters to pass a test, but it's time that we start testing potential politicians to make sure they understand the Constitution and the requirements of the job. It's time that we ask more questions of them, in townhall meetings and in correspondence to them. And if they don't answer, or if they only answer in form letters, then perhaps they need to be replaced with leaders who understand that they serve us, not unions and not corporations.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." That used to be what the United States was all about. But to be that way, we had to have leaders - in our homes, our schools, our churches, our businesses and our government - who let us know that they were behind us while we ventured out to make our own trails.
We can be that kind of America again. I believe that the window of opportunity, though, is closing rapidly. People who have said in the past, "well, I don't get involved in politics" have got to wake up and get involved.
Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
She was right. A small band of people started this great nation. And a small band of people wants to crush this great nation.
Conservatives outnumber liberals in every single state in the nation, even in those considered to be liberal states. Independents are the next largest group, and even most of those who voted for America to be "fundamentally transformed" did not anticipate a government that ignores the Constitution.
Ours is not such a small band, and we need to remember that when we think about the real changes that need to be made in our country today. When we speak of going back to the way things were, we're talking about having a government that follows the Constitution, not about instituting slavery and taking away the votes of women.
We're talking about going back to the days when government leaders served the people, not their own self-interests. But just as importantly, we're talking about going back to a time when leaders of all kinds understood the importance and necessity of instilling confidence in their charges, so that people could be proud of their own achievements and accomplishments and proud of the nation as a whole.
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