I finished reading Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington and was so inspired by him. So as I was browsing the shelves at the library, I found another book from the Leaders In Action series. It is Then Fled Darkness: The Liberating Wisdom of Booker T. Washington by Stephen Mansfield. It is so well written!
On pages 269 - 270, the author lists 22 items in "The Lessons of Leadership." Here they are:
1. To impart a sense of destiny, a leader must first impart a sense of heritage.
2. Providence and compassion are the antidotes to the poison of bitterness.
3. In self-examination, a leader finds the wisdom to help a people be their best.
4. Individual purpose finds its fulfillment in corporate destiny.
5. Wise leaders sustain themselves through disciplines of personal renewal.
6. Hard work summons the inner strengths that make a people their best.
7. Humor lets a leader win small battles in order to make larger ones unnecessary.
8. A people's destiny is fulfilled by investing in the destines of others.
9. The true leader must embody the message he proclaims.
10. Good leaders understand that character is destiny.
11. Hatred refashions a man into the image of the thing he hates.
12. Great leaders build through the gifts and talents of others.
13. Humility clears the clouds of selfishness that can dim a leader's vision.
14. Good leaders realize vision through the power of a plan.
15. People are most easily led into change by the power of example.
16. To offer a people hope is to acquire a position of leadership in their lives.
17. One must serve a people in order to lead them.
18. Excellence is the byproduct of giving oneself fully to the call.
19. Leaders must understand that a people without a heritage are easily persuaded.
20. Cleanliness is a sign of an ordered inner world.
21. To draw from the best in one's personal heritage is to draw from the best in oneself.
22. Leadership is the ability to inspire a people toward a vision of the future.
Booker T. Washington was a genius in leadership (among other things). He read the classics of his times and learned. He held no grudges or felt animosity toward those who persecuted him. He was compassionate yet required excellence from those around him. His wisdom continues to be with us today.
And at his death, people revered him. More than 8,000 attended his funeral.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Twists and turns in life....but keep on going!
It has been quite a while since I have posted. I have kept busy being a caretaker to my dad who was in the last stages of prostrate cancer. Terminal. Hospice. Morphine. Round-the-clock care. Funeral arrangements. Love. Family unity. Memories.
He passed away peacefully in his home on Saturday, March 8, 2014. It was a bittersweet moment to realize he is not on this earth for me to talk to anymore but relieved that he is no longer physically suffering.
We can never know what life has in store for us. There are twists and turns. Sometimes they are well received and sometimes we wish it could have been different. But the important thing is to keep on going...and by that it is to keep moving forward. Maybe we might need to take a few steps back as we stumble. But yes, the important thing is to head towards progress.
My dad was never rich in material things. He had sufficient for his needs. But he was a great leader who people looked up to. He was a humble man whose formal schooling in Mexico amounted to no more than a few months. Yet, he taught himself to read and write. And when he emigrated to the United States of America, he learned to speak, read and write in English as well. I remember as a young child sitting off to the side of a classroom as my parents attended free community English classes. I remember hearing them share to us their goal of coming to the U.S. so they could give their unborn children a better life than their own small border town in Mexico ever could.
My dad learned the trade of construction, in cement mostly. He was a genius in his trade. Rarely did he need to actually measure things. He could picture them in his mind and carry out the work. He was asked to be a foreman a few times but he declined. I don't know why.
He taught me a love for nature. He taught me to be brave.
He taught me that when things get tough, you get tougher until tough times end until the next time. And then the cycle begins all over again. But you keep on going!
I am truly grateful for his influence in my life. And now to keep on going..........
He passed away peacefully in his home on Saturday, March 8, 2014. It was a bittersweet moment to realize he is not on this earth for me to talk to anymore but relieved that he is no longer physically suffering.
We can never know what life has in store for us. There are twists and turns. Sometimes they are well received and sometimes we wish it could have been different. But the important thing is to keep on going...and by that it is to keep moving forward. Maybe we might need to take a few steps back as we stumble. But yes, the important thing is to head towards progress.
My dad was never rich in material things. He had sufficient for his needs. But he was a great leader who people looked up to. He was a humble man whose formal schooling in Mexico amounted to no more than a few months. Yet, he taught himself to read and write. And when he emigrated to the United States of America, he learned to speak, read and write in English as well. I remember as a young child sitting off to the side of a classroom as my parents attended free community English classes. I remember hearing them share to us their goal of coming to the U.S. so they could give their unborn children a better life than their own small border town in Mexico ever could.
My dad learned the trade of construction, in cement mostly. He was a genius in his trade. Rarely did he need to actually measure things. He could picture them in his mind and carry out the work. He was asked to be a foreman a few times but he declined. I don't know why.
He taught me a love for nature. He taught me to be brave.
He taught me that when things get tough, you get tougher until tough times end until the next time. And then the cycle begins all over again. But you keep on going!
I am truly grateful for his influence in my life. And now to keep on going..........
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