Like many communities, the village in which I grew up had a town drunk. His name was Tex—probably because he wore a cowboy hat most of the time. Or maybe he wore the hat because his name was Tex. I don’t know.
Actually he wasn’t just our Town Drunk. You see we weren’t big enough to have our own and had to share Tex with the next town over.
In any event, Tex could often be found walking the road pulling an old rope. People would ask him why he pulled that darn rope around with him. He’d smile, push his big cowboy hat back and say, “Did you ever try pushing one?”
It always got a laugh. I think it was Tex’s way of setting someone up. Someone laughed at it once and it became his joke—his trademark.
But, of course he was also right. You can’t push a rope.
Dwight D. Eisenhower used to illustrate the art of leadership in much the same way. He’d place a piece of string on a table and say, “pull it, and it will follow anywhere you wish. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all.”
Leadership is the ability to make people want to follow you. It means being out in front and doing what you’re asking others to do.
And the world is in dire need of leadership. People are looking to follow almost anyone who knows where he or she is going, believes fervently in a cause, has integrity and truly cares about his or her followers.
Leadership is a skill. It’s maturity, it’s wisdom, and it’s discipline. It’s something that we all can do more of. How about it? Are you willing to lead instead of follow?
Recommended Reading
The Achievement Code
The Three-C Formula for Getting What you Truly Want
Without the Three C’s of Clarity, Concentration and Consistency, achieving your goals will always be hit and miss.
The Achievement Code shows you how to live with more purpose, passion and prosperity.
