The Essence of Leadership

We’re all called upon to be leaders – if you have children, people reporting to you at work, friends who confide in you – leadership is required of you. You mightn’t call it that, but that is what it is. Above all, we’re called upon to lead our own lives. Yes, we’re called upon to be leaders and few wish to shoulder the responsibility. Most normal people will look to someone else – if not for leadership, then for blame. It’s the bankers’ fault that my business is under pressure – it’s politicians’ fault that my standard of living has deteriorated – it’s the system’s fault that I didn’t get promoted. Get up off your ass – start promoting yourself! Surely you’re meant to take the lead in what is, after all, a lifetime for which you can write your own script.

But what does it take to be a leader? How do you write your own script for the life that you want? Well, strangely enough, the answer to both questions is the same! It takes presence – the hallmark of highly successful people, the very essence of leadership. And the good news is that we can all develop our presence no matter how ineffective you think that you might be – if you’re suffering from a lack of self-confidence, low self-esteem or poor self-image, get real, they’re all figments of the normal mind’s obsession with paying attention to everywhere except where life’s actually happening – the present!

And that’s how you develop your presence – there’s no magic formula, no big secret. Psychology has proven that your ability to be happy and successful – and your ability to make a great impression on others – is down to how you pay attention! Yes, it really is that simple – pay attention to what’s actually going on and you’ll activate parts of your brain that are only ever otherwise activated when you get a natural high. In other words, turn yourself on – tune in to the only place where life can be lived – the here and now – because tuning in tunes out all the crap in your head that has misled you into believing in your own inadequacy.

Tuning in means actually seeing what’s going on now for what it is – it means coming to your senses – it means seeing, feeling, hearing, smelling and tasting the reality of the moment – not peering through the crud-covered window of your own sick mind – no offense meant and, I hope, none taken, all normal minds are sick. Unfortunately, research shows that the average normal person is only 1% present – the subconscious mind having become stuck in the thoughts, feelings and self-images that were taken on board during their formative years. This is where most of your mental energy goes and, because it is subconscious, you’re completely unaware of it. Well, certainly unaware of what is happening subconsciously, but you may be all too well aware of the consequences for your daily life as you trudge from one day to the next thanking your lucky stars that, at least, your life is not too bad.

A life spent in the present moment is entirely different from the norm. People who live in the present are abnormal – and you must strive to be abnormal too because, otherwise, you’re simply wasting the precious gift of this moment – a lifetime full of present moments. The only place and time that life can be lived is now. And, you know what, if you bother your ass to turn up to the present moment, you’ll be head and shoulders above all the normal people on this planet. You will be present – certainly far more than the pathetic 1% present that is the norm. As a result, you will have what normal people, knowing no better, call “presence”. It’s not something that only some people have, we all have the ability to have presence because it simply means being more present than the norm, to the extent that everyone else, yourself included, notices.

Your presence will change your life. Because, when we are no longer squinting to see what’s going on through the crud of our own subconscious programming, we can actually see opportunities and possibilities that were there all of the time – we just couldn’t see them. You’ll be properly equipped, willing and able to take the decisive action that we call must take if we want to make our lives into what we want them to be. You will stop reacting – unfortunately, the hallmark of the normal mind and a sure and certain route to further normal misery. You will, at last, be able to lead your own life. In doing so, you’ll provide leadership to anyone who is looking up to you for it – be that your nearest and dearest, your children, your friends or those at work who you are actually paid to lead. And you won’t even have to make any effort – when you’re tuned into the here and now the very best you simply and effortlessly emerges.

Your life, your opportunities, your success is entirely in your own hands – all that is required is that you actually turn up to the here and now – the rest simply flows effortlessly.