Walking With Your Shadow
Back when I was growing up in Dehradun (then not the proud capital that it is today), there was an oft repeated aphorism my folks used on me - "Nothing ever ends.....there are only new beginnings" At that stage, I thought they meant that the end of one relationship signified the beginning of another, and I must confess that allowed me to move rather pleasantly from one messed up story to another. Of course, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that's not really what my folks meant.
Like the Phoenix that always rises from its own ashes, stronger and more resplendent, an end does not need to signify the end of the road. It could well be that where it forks, there may be another path, one that leads to greater glory than the one you just stepped away from.
Having said that, when one is at the fag end of the road, not too many lads and lassies really have the heart or the disposition to look for brighter meanderings. One bemoans the loss more than the opportunity of greater gain. One falters over failure more often than leap the hedge of success. And this is where the leader comes in.
The true leader inspires you to go on even when your own heart tells you to lie down and whimper. The really great leaders don't say, "Look at me, I wouldn't give up if I were you." They make you ask yourself, "Would he give up if he were me?" And then if you have been the paragon of leadership that you were meant to be, you would have already inspired him not by telling him what to do, but by letting him visualize what you would have done.
The road to leadership is a complex one. You walk not alone; your shadow walks beside you. And beside that walk scores of people who are watching you every moment, waiting to be inspired or disillusioned by what they see you doing. Tread that road carefully my friend, because each step you take could either result in a great leap for mankind or create a vortex that sucks in everything.
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