Following & Being Lead

The English language is a difficult language to learn because there are so many words, so many synonyms, and so many homonyms.  That vast choice gives us so many different forms of expression.  Over time, each choice of expression grows with a different connotation and metaphor.

Its “cool” to be a leader in our society, but it is so cool that we forget the merits of being a follower.  Yet there technically has to be more followers than a leader!  And, we must all be followers before we become leaders.  In fact, they say a true leader isn’t someone who is looking back to see who is following them, they are someone looking forward to the person they are following.

Following is an active choice.  We consciously decide whom we will follow for our own interest and benefit.  Being lead happens to individuals who have an indifferent or uncaring attitude.  They become the mice in a game not designed by them.  Misleaders are those who have a selfish gain in recruiting people who will be unknowingly lead, and misleaders will prey on those who will be lead.

C. Mason Weaver, in Chapter 10 of his book, “the Rope,” says, “Misleaders know that if they keep us focused on our differences, we won’t concentrate on what they are doing.  No one will knowingly follow a misleader; he must trick you into thinking you are being lead.  You must develop enough knowledge to recognize the subtle differences between following and being lead.”

We could argue that at any given time, we are either following, or being lead.  That’s why it is so important to decide who and what we are following.  We can choose to follow people we have respect and admiration for, or we can be lead by the masses and by the media.  Having an arrogant attitude saying, “I’m a leader, I don’t need to follow anyone!” only makes us that much more susceptible to becoming a victim who will be lead.

Max De Pree in “Leadership Is an Art” says, “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality.  The last is to say thank you.  In between, the leader is a servant.”  In order to be a servant, we must find someone honorable enough to serve.  Who else is as honorable as another leader we would want to be like?

Sometimes finding the right leader can be difficult.  This is especially true when we have been accustomed to hanging around losers.  There are a variety of ways to increase our circle of friends and find the heroes we’ve been lacking.  One of the ways I found very simply was through network marketing.  There is always someone somewhere in our up-line who has the characteristics which we desire.  What’s more is that because of the network marketing system, they are approachable and have an incentive for us to learn everything they know.  It’s a tremendous system.

Remember, if we are merely being lead, we will always just be lead.  However, if we decide who we will follow, one day we’ll realize that there are an uncountable number of people following us.

Let's love the world together...

Love,
Danish Ahmed, blind visionary