"Success is Clearly in View" - The Leader's vision must be vivid and shared*.
During my parents’ lifetime, a leader said,
“I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people.”
That leader had a vision of freedom for his country; not just freedom from foreign rule but freedom in the broadest sense of the word.
This leader inspired the people of his country with quotes such as,
“Be the change you want to see in the world.”
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”
This leader’s motto was:
“Simple Living, High Thinking”
This leader lived a life of peace and demanded the same from his followers. He encouraged non-violent civil disobedience from foreign authority he believed was unnecessary and unjust. He asked his people to refrain from retaliating when they were attacked with physical force.
His people rallied and followed his Vision and his guidance.
He lived to see his country of 300,000,000 people freed from foreign rule.
This leader was Mahatma Gandhi.
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Now, that is a summary of the amazing achievement of a 20th Century leader.
The historical record confirms the details of a leader who, with Vision, set the global standard for peaceful human relations, and freed an entire nation.
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Now, such an extreme example of pacifistic leadership is unusual.
Regardless, we can benefit from understanding the following about
Mahatma Gandhi:
- He had a Vision – freeing the 300,000,000 people of his country
- He clearly communicated that Vision – his people knew exactly what he envisioned
- He led by example – his peaceful demonstrations and his hunger strikes setting examples for all
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