Page 213 - Reflections_over_Akamas

To lead...

... is to believe that I matter. My life matters. My ideas matter. My difference
of opinion matters. And of course, my actions matter. It’s about feeling
something deep in my bones; caring enough about something and
daring to take action. It’s not vanity, however. It’s a responsibility. It’s my
responsibility to save the world one dream at a time. The Greek writer
Nikos Kazantzakis often guides me back to my inner compass; an ethos

that acknowledges my power to ‘love responsibility’. Say to yourself:
“I’m going to save the world, if I don’t, no one will.” Once you exercise
that power you help others to find their own power, within themselves.
Leadership is not a status, it’s not a title, it’s a mindset. Great leaders breed
even greater leaders, who create worthy successors. They breed
innovation and they inspire potential for growth. They seek change and
have the integrity to become the change. For me, being a leader is all

about becoming a symbol of trust, value and integrity.

Words are symbols. Powerful ones. I call them Ministers of Personal Culture. Words hold a tribe together.
They create a sense of belonging and understanding among people and define boundaries; they demonstrate
perceptions, attitudes and beliefs. That’s why I find ‘free fall’, the words used to describe skydiving,
inaccurate and insulting. It implies that skydiving is passive, like a rock falling from the sky. But in reality,
you don’t just stand at the door of a plane, take a leap and let gravity and the wind take over. Even when I’m
not wearing a wingsuit, I’m still actively navigating. That’s what I’m doing. I navigate! I navigate my descent
from the heavens, from thousands of feet in the sky, as sneaky crosswinds and turbulence push my body
away from my landing point. It took me countless hours to learn how to control my speed and direction,
standing over a turbojet chamber simulator and twisting my body in all sorts of directions... There! I said

it! Navigate! That’s my responsibility, up there, as an aviator. And down here, it’s my responsibility ‘to
navigate’ my own life and business. And I like it. It gives me ownership of my decisions. It’s an act and a skill
of leadership. I respond to situations without wasting any time protesting or whining about how unfair life
can be. Instead, I face reality head-on, evaluating but not judging. I become aware of the resources I need
and I act deliberately, appropriately and with purpose as if my life and the whole world depended on it.
When you navigate, there are no setbacks, only results that indicate you need to recalibrate your course of
action. It’s a living, breathing strategy.

Should you aspire to become a leader, a great leader, I have one or two

suggestions that may be of use on your epic journey through this life. Love
people, love life; all of it, be afraid but more so, be curious. Don’t judge.
Evaluate. Be responsible. Become who you are but think beyond yourself
and believe, or better yet, know that you can make a difference; whatever
you do, put your whole heart into what you’re doing; to the maximum, and
commit to the final length no matter what obstacles come your way.

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