Courage

I can't believe we're already over half way through GLAD, and that it's now time to write out 4th and final blog posting on A Leader's Legacy! As the title suggests, this section is all about Courage. Most people picture a large heroic task of some sort when they think of courage, however in reality more often then not, people display acts of courage by just completing little tasks everyday. When one makes a decision they may be leery or unsure about, or a time where someone steps out of the box and takes a risk; these are all common acts of courage. In this section it also talks about what people percieve their acts of courage to be. Ironically I was reading this section over Spring Break while substitute teaching in my high school. It was during my lunch break, right after a tough class I had to deal with. I realized that speaking up to this class, letting them know that although I was barely four years out of high school that I was their teacher for the day essentially and that I wanted the same respect they'd give anyone else, took a lot of courage on my part. What I took out of this section is that in order you be a good leader, one must have courage. But then courage isn't necessarily always what we think it is. Courage can be an act that makes a huge difference, or perhaps something small that will affect one of two people. It can be the courage to speak up when with a suggestion, but also the courage to back down and admit when one is wrong. The courage to accept defeat, and admit failure but the will to want to try something new despite possible outcomes. And lastly, one of my favorite parts of this whole book is the final paragraph. It sums up everything the book covers, and what people should remember on a day to day basis; "You just never know whose life you might touch. You just never know what change you might initiate and what impact you might have. You just never know when the critical moment might come. What you do know is that you can make a difference. You can leave the world better then you found it".