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[music]
The greatest stories of humanity are the stories of the hero’s quest, and a good story starts
with a dream. That is why all great leaders are visionaries. They ask themselves mythical
questions: Who am I? What do I want? Who are the heroes and mentors our society can learn
from?
History traffics in myth-making, which is based on personal charisma and uses spin to
evoke an aura of destiny. When the strong and ruthless rise on the world stage, we find
ourselves led by power-hungry premiers and presidents kings and generals, autocrats and
dictators. But these measures of leadership are flawed. None of the qualities mentioned
here indicates that a leader like this will actually improve the lives of those who follow
him. Destructive behavior has a way of weeding out bad leaders through failure.
The inspired leader’s power comes not from other people but from her very being. The
path she walks is guided by her own soul. Its hallmarks are creativity, intelligence,
organizing power, and love. Power on this level isn't a force that you use like a weapon
to get your own way. It isn't money, status, possessions, or any other material surrogate
True self power implies feeling beneath no one, being immune to criticism and being fearless.
It starts with a vision of the "core self” as the author of your own story. The greatest
leaders are storytellers who envision their lives as heroe's quests, which come to fruition
through inspired action. They are perfectly aligned with their inner, core self, which
is in turn aligned with the greater collective of society that they serve. In this way, leadership
is first a task of perceiving and listening, prior to “doing” or achieving.
Thus, a true leader is the soul of a collective consciousness. She unlocks the potential for
greatness in herself and those she serves. Enlightened leadership taps into these values,
as well as those of truth, goodness, beauty, intuition, creativity, insight and focused
attention.
In the midst of chaos, certain individuals step out of the shadows in order to lead society
in new directions necessary for further evolution. Only a truly great leader will find wisdom
in the face of mythic-proportion challenges. And only a leader who operates from the soul
level, with vision, creativity, and love, will be remembered as such.
Are you ready to be a leader?