Are There Any REAL Leaders left?

When I was a boy, I wanted to be an American. It wasn’t the cowboys or Hollywood that appealed to me. It was something more, something deeper.

In America I saw a country where it was truly possible to become more than the stature of your birthplace. I saw America as a country that grew great leaders.

Today, as a man in his 50s, having traveled to many places around the world, I have seen many political leaders from many different nations say one thing and do another. My belief in the inherent beauty in people has grown and sadly, at the same time, so has my cynical view about the words of politicians.

‎“Every leader, every genius, every star must face the pull toward mediocrity.

The pull that will keep you from your own brilliance is the need to be accepted.

Remember no greatness was ever achieved without opposition”. ~Dõv Baron…

Back on January 20th 2009, hopeful tears rolled down both my British and my wife’s Fijian cheeks like streams that suddenly appear across a dried up desert after an unexpected rainfall.

I know our tears were merely drops in the ocean of the collective joyous tears being shed not just in the US, but around the world.

On that day, as I watched the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of USA, I saw the shoots of faith burst through in what has been a desert of desperation. Barack Obama had inspired a stream that had awakened a spirit of greatness that had lain dormant for far too long.

Barack Obama did not claim to be a wizard who could wave a magic wand and fix everything. In his Inaugural speech, he made it clear that for dreams to come true work is needed and that part of that work is about being inclusive rather than exclusive.

This man, the new president of the U. S of A was all about Change. Eloquent and articulate, Barack Obama was, for so many, the manifestation of Martin Luther King Jr.’s civil rights dream.

America may have been, and may still be, if only by a thread, the leader of the free world. However, to be a nation that leads the free world, that nation must have a “True Leader” at the helm. A leader who has integrity, someone who says what they will do, and does what they say. Sadly, it seems to me that there are fewer and fewer True Leaders in the world today.

And so I ask: Where are the contemporary Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Indira Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, JFK?

Where are men and women who are willing to do the work that is necessary to change the world?  Are there no REAL leaders left?

Just to be clear:  I’m not attacking Barak Obama; remember I was delighted at his having been elected as President. I’m simply asking–Are There No REAL Leaders left?

So what are the qualities of a Real Leader?

For years I traveled and studied with great masters and along the way I became fascinated with leaders. Not just any leader, but great leaders men and women who walked their talk, who stood in the face of rejection and were unwavering in their convictions.  Some of these leaders were people I personal didn’t like or agree with, but they had certain qualities in common and I decided to make a study of those qualities. In fact, it is upon the framework of that research that I developed what I call my Core Affluence System.

To start off, the term “affluence” is most often assigned as being directly and even exclusively related to money, and that is not the case. The root meaning of the word affluence is flow. So if a person is affluent, they are in the flow.  The Core of  Core Affluence System is a multi-layered acronym. However, I’d like to share with you the first layer of the Core Affluence System

C: Clarity.

A great leader must have a clarity of purpose. Great leaders know specifically what they want and why they want it!

O: Ownership.

A great leader takes complete ownership of that purpose. They have a burning desire, a sense of mission about their purpose!

R: Resilience.

A great leader stays the course, does not lose focus just because of opposition.

E: Expansiveness.

A great leader has a laser beam level of clarity about the desired outcome, however, they are also expansive in their thinking about how that outcome will come to fruition.

Every great leader I have researched and studied operated from a place of Core Affluence !

In the interest of transparency and at the risk of upsetting some folks, from my position it seems most contemporary leaders, even those in personal development, have become pretty wishy-washy, passive and placating.  What they say and what they do seems designed to validate denial and make people feel good for a short time. (And my comments aren’t meant to be taken personally.  Some great folks are aspiring to be leaders, but that’s not the same as being a REAL LEADER in the world today)

Much has dramatically changed since I began my path several decades ago. However, I’m left wondering if you still yearn for leaders and teachings delivered by higher caliber leaders who stand in integrity and are willing to call you to stand with them in yours?

I want to share with you the secret to becoming lucky.  But first, I like to think I have a good grasp on who my readers are, and so with your permission, I would like to ask you a couple of questions, if that’s okay with you.

Let me start here:  How many times have you been told, in one form or another, that someone has some kind of magical solution to your problem?  You know what, you don’t need to answer that; the truth is it’s probably more often than you can count with infomercials, commercials, web pages, and goodness knows what else.

Over time, we’ve all been bombarded with magical solutions:  Everything from something that will cook your chicken in record time, slice a can and your tomatoes without even dulling your blade,  magic weight loss pills, instant hair for your bald spot, instant hair removal for your hairy spots, penis enlargers, breast enlargers, tummy tuckers, butt lifters, blenders that do everything but clean your bathroom floor, and a myriad of other miracles for just three easy payments of… The problem is that even if something is of genuine value, most people have been so soured by the smooth talking commercials that we can’t recognize true value anymore.

The question is this:  Is there something you can trust to actually deliver what you want? The answer is YES! However, don’t panic, I am not going to sell it to you, and in fact, neither can anyone else.

My guess is that if you are reading this, (which of course you are), you have at one time or another felt a bit ripped off by someone’s magical promises and as a result you are smart enough to have done your research and analysis of what’s being offered to see if it is going to truly be of genuine assistance, right?

My guess is that the reason you even purchased some of the things is because you had a problem and you wanted a solution.  Simple, right? I would guess that you pride yourself on being open-minded. You’re likely someone who feels they have at the very least a fundamental understanding of the way life works and you now understand that it’s your time to step up, make things happen, and as a result others likely look to you as a leader. Again, am I right?  If I’m at least somewhat on target, then there’s a good chance that you are committed to making a difference not only in your life, but also in the lives of others.  Again, if I’m at least somewhat right, please read on.  If not, you can go read something else and I promise to take no offense.

Now let’s get back to the thing you can trust to actually deliver what you want…even though I already told you that I can’t sell it to you, it does have a price, in fact there are three accumulative prices and for many these prices will just be too high.

Let me give you a clue to what it is:  Here’s a riddle for you:

What’s the one thing you can allow to be stolen from you and never be able to get back?

TIME!

Time is one of the prices you will have to pay, it’s not the only price, but it’s the first one.  To get what you want in life, whether you’re using magical weight loss pills or anything else, it all takes a certain amount of time.  To get what you want in life, each day you will have to dedicate some time to getting ‘it.’

The second price you must pay is one of an emotional investment.  Simply going through the motions is not enough! You must do what you need to do to get where you want to get and you must do it with absolute PASSION!

The place where this can get tough is there will be days when you feel like the results will never happen and on those days you must find the way to apply even more passion.

The third price you will need to pay is the one so very few are willing to invest and that is the price of:

‘Action in the Face of Ridicule.’

‘They’ will ridicule you; they will say you are crazy; they will laugh at you for putting in the time and doing so with passion.  And worst of all, ‘they’ will likely be the people who ‘love’ you.

Why will they do that?  Well, there are many reasons that I don’t have space to deal with right here, but what I can tell you right off the bat is they will ridicule you because they too have been sold the idea of magical thinking, where everything appears supposedly without any effort and if it doesn’t, it’s just not worth it.

Know this, while you are driving to your dreams there will be times particularly at the beginning where they and maybe even you cannot see the results you are looking for. However, if you are truly on your path and you are paying the price, you will know that what they are looking to see and cannot yet see in the outer world is already 100% real in your inner world and it’s just a matter of ‘time’ before it shows up in your outer reality.

But, beware!  As they sit there holding on to their mediocrity and minimizing everything you do and telling you to stop dreaming, when what it is that you have been investing in with your time, emotional energy, and your willingness to face disapproval does show up, they will call you ‘lucky.’

They will not understand and neither should you try to convince them for…

The dreamer cannot explain the process of dreaming to one who refuses to dream.

You can describe swimming to someone who has never swam but that’s not the same as diving in, feeling the rush of the water against your skin, hearing the sound of your own body submerge into the muffled silence as the taste of the ocean washes across your taste buds.  There is no explaining to those who are not willing to experience.

On your journey away from the town of mediocrity to the top of Dream Mountain, there will be things that become dead weight that you can no longer carry. Endless hours of watching TV, gossiping about celebrities you actually know nothing of any substance about, eating rather than dealing with emotions, and as you will discover for yourself, a myriad of other things will just fall away.

When you start achieving what you want in life they will say; “you’ve changed” and you may be tempted to say; “No, I haven’t.”  Please don’t do that to yourself!  Say “YES I have, and thank you for noticing.” The fact is, you are changing and change is a natural part of being on the planet and those who complain that you’ve changed are clearly trying to hang on to some glory days gone by.  Maybe a memory of being the hottest kid in school, 10, 20, or however many years ago or maybe some other past glory.

The path to fulfilling your dreams is not for the weak.

The path to your dreams is in fact the hero’s journey and it can be a lonely one unless you seek out fellow travelers. Fellow seekers who have also invested their time, their passion and they too have been ridiculed for being a dreamer. Those who walk this path successfully find fellow travelers to support their journey.

Look, here’s what I found: When you invest the three things I’ve outlined here: Time, Energy, and the Willingness to Face Ridicule, it will appear that you get ‘lucky’, that things appear to happen magically for you.

What you will know is the truth: You got “lucky” because you did what it took.

I look forward to your feedback and comments.

Until next time; live with courage, Dov… 

I put it to you that it’s all about leader-ship

Picture a sailboat out on the water sailing from L.A. to Hawaii. The Captain knows where she is going and even why she is going there. She sets sail on a beautiful sunny afternoon, there’s a warm breeze in her sails and the magnificent pacific is open and deeply inviting as the deep blue of the water reflects the clear blue of the sky above.

Suddenly, the wind picks up and with it the ocean’s waves begin to swell, clouds come rolling in turning a clear blue sky ominously grey. The sail begin to flap harshly against the ever building storm. The Captain remains cool, clear and proactive.  She knows where she’s going and realizes that she must change course a little in order to stay afloat, she tacks to the starboard aiming the boats nose more towards the wind. She does this not to far, but just enough, because she knows she must use this wind as the fuel to push her through and over the swell.

Our captain knows that in order to get to where she wants to go it is better to use what is coming at her to move her forward, even if it appears to be slightly off course. She knows that to become ridged and inflexible will not only not get her to her destination it may sink her, her ship and the dreams she caries with her.

You my friend are the captain of your own ship sailing towards a destiny, but what destiny is it?

The question is will you get wrecked on the economic rocks as the winds of change pick up and blow against you or will you adjust and use the change to push you even faster towards your destination? You can complain about the economic situation or you can use it. Find out how it might be really good for you. I know it can seem crazy, but even this simple shift can change what you begin attracting into your life. If you decide it’s all crap then you wouldn’t know opportunity if it came up and gave you a big wet kiss.

When it comes to being successful, those who not only survive the winds of change but embrace them are the ones who will appear ‘lucky’ while in fact they where the ones most willing to change and morph with whatever comes up.

I just spent a week in New York City, it’s a place I love. I was there with around 100 other people who are all committed to making a difference in this world and what I can tell you for sure is they like me are all willing to shift and change with whatever is coming at them. I challenge you to do the same…

We all agreed: this is not the time to pull back, but rather now is the time to invest more in yourself and your dream.

Stay focused in knowing where you’re going and at the same time flexible enough to do whatever needs to be done to get there.

Leave your comments below and in the next post I’ll talk about why you might want to let go of what you think is true.

Be well, Dov…

Master the Attracting Force at www.AttractingForce.com