What kind of leader are you?

What’s your purpose?  Are you a teacher of young minds or new concepts?  Are you a builder of companies or of things?  Are you a leader – someone who can mobilize others because of a shared vision?

As this is the last blog about this month’s joy habit about being on purpose, I’ve chosen the purpose of leadership to wrap up the series.  Why?  Because I believe we need to reawaken the leadership qualities we all possess in order to stand up for people or things we care about. We can no longer afford to stand by thinking that someone else will do the heavy lifting.  As Martin Luther King, Jr. said “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

It’s up to all of us to find the thing that makes our heart break and then vow to do something about it.  And fueled by the passion of purpose, we will be better able to lead the way for others who share our convictions.  That’s how change happens.  If you want to read a great book that may just inspire you into action, read Dave Smith’s To Be of Use: The Seven Seeds of Meaningful Work.

What I’ve just described is one way of expressing the purpose of leadership – through conscious activism.  The other way is a little more subtle and something even the more reserved among us can do.  It’s about “showing up” in life in a way that others will want to emulate.

One of my favourite poets, Mark Nepo, put it this way by saying “We cannot eliminate hunger, but we can feed each other.  We cannon eliminate loneliness, but we can hold each other.  We cannot eliminate pain, but we can live a life of compassion.” 

You see, all these acts of kindness show leadership to and for each other.  In and of themselves they may not seem significant but when combined with the efforts of other silent and vocal leaders, they fulfill the responsibility we all promised to fulfill before birth – that of playing our part in the collective journey we share on planet earth.

I’ll close this final blog on purpose by sharing a famous quote by George Bernard Shaw, one that you may already be familiar with but bears repeating.  Read it slowly and feel the passion of Shaw’s words:

“This is the true joy in life: The being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. The being a force of nature, instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.  I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.  I want to be thoroughly used up when I die – for the harder I work, the more I live.  I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no “brief candle” to me; it is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”

Remember my friend, although you are your own joy, your example can shine the light so that others can follow.  Lead with purpose.  Be the joy.

Love from your Joy Mama,

P.S.    If you haven’t already read my book Being Joy™, it’s a simple 40-day practice of replacing old self-defeating beliefs with new empowering joy habits. As your vibrational frequency increases, you’ll not only experience more joy, but you’ll also be a beacon of hope for others who have forgotten their own joy.  Please join me on this important mission by ordering your copy today!

If you enjoyed this post, you may also like these:

What was your pandemic ritual?
Are you a teacher?
Are you a builder?
Do you daydream?

Image courtesy of Pixabay.