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Updated
9/12/99
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Being A Good Leader
Part One: Courage
There are many aspects of being a good leader, one of which includes having courage. The courage to support your peers, the courage to stand up for what is right, the courage to maintain one's integrity without fear. Eleanor Roosevelt once said :
"Courage is the strength to face pain, act under pressure, and maintain one's values in the face of opposition. You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself 'I have lived through this horror. I can face the next thing that comes along'. Courage is when you do the thing you think you cannot do."
Courage exists in many forms. It could be unexpected -- something we never knew existed in us, as when we suddenly defend another against bullies or prejudice. Courage could be maintaining your morals or values under the threat of criticism from peers, family, or authority figures, as in defending ourselves against people with more power or finding the courage to puruse a dream that others deem as foolish. Courage can suddenly appear when we are suddenly faced with fear--- a test that we are not prepared for, or a war we are forced into. I am reminded of a university student who happened to be a literary major, who encountered some difficulties in preparing for his final semester exam. One that day, there was only one essay question that determined his semester grade in literature. It stated "What is courage?", and everyone in his class started scribbling away frantically, citing examples of literature from past history. When he turned in his paper, there was only two words on it. "THIS IS." He got an "A".
"Do what you fear most and you control fear."
~ Anthony Robbins ~
Story #1
This story was passed on to me, and it is a true story about something that happened just a few years ago at USC.
There was a professor of philosophy there who was a deeply committed atheist. His primary goal for one required class was to spend the entire semester proving that God couldn't exist. His students were always afraid to argue with him, because of his impeccable logic. For twenty years, he had taught this class and no one had ever had the courage to go against him. Sure, some had argued in class at times, but no one had ever *really gone against him* (you'll see what I mean later). Nobody would go against him, because he had a reputation. At the end of every semester, on the very last day, he would say to the class of 300 students, "If there is anyone here who still believes in God, stand up!" In twenty years, nobody ever had the courage to stand up. They knew what he was going to do next. He would say, "Because anyone who believes in God is a fool. If God existed, he could stop this piece of chalk from hitting the ground and breaking. Such a simple task to prove that he is God, and yet he can't do it." And every year he would drop the chalk onto the tile floor of the classroom and it would shatter into a hundred pieces. All the students could do nothing, but stop and stare. Most of the students were convinced that God couldn't exist. Certainly, a number of Christians had slipped through, but for 20 years they had been too afraid to stand up. They never possessed the courage to stand up for what they believed in, even if it meant being ridiculed by this professor, and perhaps even their peers.
Well, a few years ago there was a freshman at USC who happened to get enrolled in this class. He was a devoted Christian, and he had heard the stories about this professor. He had to take the class because it was one of the required classes for his major. And he was afraid because he feared he wouldn't be strong and be able to proclaim his faith in God. He was afraid of being ridiculed, and he was afraid of being called "a fool". As an 18-year old, he knew what courage meant, but he was not sure if he had the courage to stand up to this professor whom no one had opposed for twenty over years. But for three months that semester, he prayed every morning that he would have the courage to stand up no matter what the professor said or what the class thought. He hoped that nothing they said or did could ever shatter his faith. Finally, the day came. The professor said, "If there is anyone here who still believes in God, stand up!"
As he stood up slowly, while the professor and the class of 300 students looked at him, shocked. He felt his cheeks flush with pride and his heart beat a little quicker as he said in a strong & clear voice "I still believe in God." Some students giggled to one another, and others pointed fingers at him in mockery. The professor shouted, "YOU FOOL! If nothing I have said all semester has convinced you that God doesn't exist, then you are a fool! If God existed, he could keep this piece of chalk from breaking when it hit the ground!" He proceeded to drop the chalk, but as he did, it slipped out of his fingers, off his shirt cuff, onto the pleats of his pants, down his leg, and off his shoe. And as it hit the ground, it simply rolled away, unbroken. The professor's jaw dropped as he stared at the chalk. He looked up at the young man and then ran out of the lecture hall.
This young college freshmen who had stood up, and with courage proclaimed what he believed in, proceeded to walk to the front of the room and share his faith in Jesus for the next half hour. 300 students stayed and listened as he told of God's love for them and of his power through Jesus.
On to Part II
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Being A Good Leader
I. Courage
II. Character
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