1. STARTING THE JOURNEY
first steps
Why do you want to develop as a leader? What do you want
to achieve? A leader is going somewhere. Why move if you
are happy with what you have?
We move for only two reasons: either we are unhappy where
we are and want to be somewhere else, or we sense something
better and are drawn towards it. However good our life, we get
used to it and then we want more; our imagination always
soars beyond our present state. The energy to start comes
from our conviction within, coupled with a push from the out-
side. This call to adventure and the urge to play with the
unknown has given us our art, music, science and commerce.
Leadership comes from our natural striving to constantly
reinvent ourselves. You do not need external permission to
be a leader. Nor do you need any qualifications or position
of authority. Leadership does not depend on what you do al-
ready. Many people in positions of authority are not leaders;
they may have the title but not the substance. Others have
the substance, but no title. Leadership comes from the real-
ity of what you do and how you think, not from your title or
nominal responsibilities. Leadership blooms when the soil
and climate is right, but the seed comes from within. So the
only permission you need to begin is your own. The moment
you say to yourself, ‘I can be a leader,’ you have already
rolled up the map, put on your boots, got up from your easy
chair and taken the first step on the journey.
Irish folklore tells the story of a group of tourists enjoying
a walk in the countryside. They had a map, but even so, by