Seriously, as an individual, you can sit there burning bridges and building barriers but that will only put you in ISOLATION.
It is not too late to build bridges and add doors to the walls and you are putting yourself where you should be: OUT THERE!
Don’t for one second fool yourself that you can do it alone and damn everyone else. It does not work that way. Leaders, it IS your job to be create new points of contact, new conversations, new opportunities, and new iterations of yourself. KEEP IT NEW!
To take the reins of your present, let go of the past, understand that the future is still tomorrow. As a leader, there is nowhere to hide, you have no choice but to get out there.
It is not too late to do so. What is too late is in believing that the past will carry you for the rest of your life. However, if you believe that, you have got some growing up to do. The past is gone and it only serves as a stepping stone to move you up and out.
Use all that the past has taught you to teach others. Do not use the past as a crutch to help you limp along in life with a “oh woe is me” attitude that soon everyone will get tired of. By everyone, I mean those that are close to you and those that far from you.
If the events of 2020 taught us one thing is that we are all equal in our misery and in our happiness. Life going forward will never be the same. Throughout the quarantines and mandates everyone experienced what I call the GREAT EQUALIZER of 2020.
Suddenly, we were all thrust into something new, different, scary and uncertain. In the blink of an eye, family, friends, and neighbors were gone. How can that not affect people? How can that not affect you? If you claim none of that affected you, I declare BULLSHIT and I challenge you to change my mind.
You can front, you can put up a façade but your private self knows you were scared, you feared the unknown, the uncertainty, I know I did, all of us did. However, over time as the word got out and we all started to understand more, then the fear, the uncertainty and the unknown started to subside. But if you still say “NO, NOT ME” then please continue fooling yourself because you are the only you are fooling.
Current and Future Leaders, know these two things: False bravado is not the sign of a Genuine Leader. False bravado is usually found in consistent use of a bad manager. Leaders of exceptional caliber do not need to put on airs or wear false colored glasses. Authentic Leadership is based on the individual’s skills, knowledge, experience and the resulting wisdom.
Let this serve as a notice to the individuals that prefer to use a “crutch” as a tool to garner ill-deserved attention. Please know that your time is quickly coming to an end. As we emerge from the “Great Equalizer” and know the playing field has been leveled, if you find that you, as an individual, cannot compete then it is the perfect time to re-think who you are today and who you want to become. Oh, and age is NOT an excuse to stop you from wanting or trying. Every one of us, must work at changing today to be better than yesterday. If you can’t do that, then you get what you most definitely deserve, a seat in the corner, facing the corner.
I cannot say you deserve a seat at the kiddie table because the only thing the kids at the kiddie table want is to move up to the adult table. Even they know that to make that happen they have to want to grow and change. Nope, your only place is in the corner. Only you can avoid the corner, away from everyone but that is up to you.
Now is the time that NEW LEADERS must emerge, current leaders that means you too. You now have the undeniable opportunity to change your path or course or whatever you call it. To FINALLY become the leader, you have always wanted to follow.
In 2021, 2022 and beyond, you and I and everyone on this planet have been given another opportunity to create something new, do something good. Those that want to follow you deserve nothing but your best, so don’t blow it!
and Get To Work!
Thank you for your time,
David Guerra, MBA
author of “The Walking Leader”