Authentic Leaders

Mini Lesson 2

The values that form the basis for authentic leadership are derived from your beliefs and convictions, but you will not know what your true values are until they are tested.
-George, Sims, Mclean, and Mayer

Female Defenders Thoughts: We love Beethoven’s music.

Most of his greatest works were written after he was completely deaf.

He did not allow his circumstances to prevent him from fulfilling his passion. His true beliefs were tested after a hardship….

Hey, I’d say he did pretty well….hmmm, He is Beethoven!

Years ago in high school,  I learned an important lesson that stuck with me through out the years: Never give up on your dreams. I attended try-outs for Varsity Cheerleading and I didn’t make it the first year. I had been cheering on the minor teams for years. I felt it was expected for me to make it.

Well, I had choices a few choices:

1)  I could have “bad” mouth the girls who made it—but, for me, that doesn’t make me feel better.

2) I could have been disgruntled.

3) I could have blamed the coaches and the judges…But would that help?

No, those things only deter and damage your CHARACTER.

My Mom asked me: What will you do to make things different?

She told me I should be on the team and reminded me that I should never give up.  In addition, she reminded me that she didn’t raise a complainer.

Over the next year, I ran on the high school track, I tackled stadium bleachers, I did push ups until my Russian-T’s were “ON FLOAT”. The next cycle, I made the team with the highest rating.  I didn’t need to “bad” mouth the team or complain about the coach–I needed to look in the mirror. When times are hard or things are not going your way, what will you do?

Your Actions DEFINE your character….Especially during the tough times.