7 Letters To My Daughters
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned on my journey, it’s this: you don’t have to be everything, but you can be anything you put your mind to. There is always a way.”
“The quality of your business leadership will rest on your ability to listen. As leaders we expect our teams to hear our vision, but it is equally if not more critical to hear others’ voices against that backdrop. Listening cannot be taken in per your convenience or the way ‘you’ want to hear something. Listening requires your whole attention and appreciation. You will be less blind-sided the more you listen since listening allows you to quiet your own mind and look into an expanded view of the issue at hand. A variety of perspectives can enhance your understanding of possible risks and potential growth.”
Now the question is:
Leadership is a bridge, a connecting of minds, dreams, and talent. When you lead with being a bridge in mind, you are clear of your temporary stage on this earth. Your drive is to build and give it away. You lead without attachment, without greed or a need for validation. Your purpose is to be free in your building, as you cross it, and cross over prepared to hand over the torch to the next. You know something else is waiting across other shores which you may not travel during your lifetime. This truth is your essence. It is your connection to eternal force, eternal energy.
Business leadership demands perseverance. Nothing is handed to you in a manual with directions on how to function effectively or how to troubleshoot when you hit a wall. Surprises don’t announce or proclaim their arrival. They can set up as a roadblock and cause all your planning to go downhill. This is where you dig your heels, focus on the prize, build a rhythm in your pace, mark your stride to go forward and continue relentlessly until you have crossed the finish line. Preserving as you lead will take you miles ahead of the game and make you resilient beyond your imagination.
As a leader, it is critical to have awareness and understanding. Differences in culture, background, age, expertise are to be celebrated. Each of us wants to be appreciated and validated. To listen to our inner voice, to self-validate, and acknowledge self worth, takes time. As a body of people, we can all help each other through the process by respecting each difference and embracing each one’s individuality.
