Spirit of Leadership

THE SPIRIT OF LEADERSHIP

about everything in life—including ourselves. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” 34 The first-century writer John said, “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” ATTITUDES CAN BE CHANGED We can change our attitudes. In fact, we are responsible for doing so. We cannot continue to function in a manner that we do not truly believe about ourselves. The day that we take responsibility for our attitudes is the day that we truly grow up. Attitude determines everything. It is not enough to know the principles, precepts, and skills of leadership. We must acquire the spirit of leadership by discovering and applying the attitudes of true leaders. Training in leader ship really means training in attitude because attitude has to do with how we respond to life. We must think, talk, walk, dress, act, respond, decide, plan, work, relate, and live like leaders. I have had to learn the attitudes of leadership. I was born in a very poor neighborhood in the Bahamas, in a wooden house on four stones. I had ten brothers and sisters, and I slept on the wooden floor of our two-bedroom house. I grew up in a neighborhood where there was poverty, and questionable characters were always present, exerting a neg ative influence. Then I went through a transformation. I desired to know the truth about my life and about life in general. I ques tioned my disposition and challenged the status quo during

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