Lead More, Follow Less
Here’s the thing about followers: they need someone else to decide for them. A follower can't exist without a leader to follow. So the only question is: which one do you want to be?
From the moment we are born, society teaches us to follow. We follow our parents, then we follow our teachers. We follow second grade line-leaders, celebrities, trends, the news, and our local politicians.
Life is full of followers, but we’re never taught the truth: followers fall behind. After all, think about what “follow” literally means. A follower’s job is defined by being behind and staying there. As a follower, you can never be the first one to see over the horizon or the one to decide where the group is going—you just follow. Sure, followers may be safer (although even this depends on the leader they’re following) but their maximum potential will always be “average.”
That’s not you.
The Necessities of Leadership
Becoming a leader starts with a vision. Maybe you used to be a follower, and therefore feel stuck in a follower lifestyle, but deep down you know you have greater potential. That little voice is your leader, and it’s your job to help it grow.
To be an effective leader, you’re first need to succeed in leading yourself. This involves making your own decisions. Don’t look to others for validation, nor concern yourself with who (if anyone) chooses to follow you.
Once you’ve got that mastered, you can move on to leading others…and at this point, you’ll likely find yourself attracting followers without trying. Finally, there’s the end goal: what do you hope to accomplish by leading others? Here at Actions Peak, we believe that it’s to create more leaders just like you, perpetuating the chain of success for generations to come.
Becoming a Leader
At Actions Peak, we recognize the leaders amongst the crowd. These people understand the importance and desire to integrate motivation into their everyday lives. These people are people just like you. Leaders aren’t created overnight, and they seldom appear without their fair share of trials and tribulations.
So how do you become a leader? The quality of leadership already resides inside you. Just by choosing to read this instead of binging on YouTube, you are already standing out from the crowd. Presumably you’ll also looking to grow, and this is how leadership is born.
By striving to be better and to reach your goals, you begin to integrate leadership into your daily life. You can start as small as needed. For example, you could set a goal to cross off your full to-do list for the day…or to finish that project you’ve been putting off for ages. One by one, you’ll start conquering those smaller goals. Then you can step it up and add a slightly larger one to the mix.
You may be wondering: how does controlling your own life demonstrate leadership? Well, to put it simply, you can’t lead others until you effectively lead yourself.
Leading the Followers
Many people learn how to lead themselves, but–sadly–never take the plunge to lead others. Whether you’re afraid of imposter syndrome or intimidated by the feat, we are here to tell you that you have what it takes.
Leadership is a skill that can be developed just like any other. Leading others takes security in yourself and confidence in your abilities…coupled with initiative. You must believe in yourself and offer something positive for those who want to follow you. Maybe you’re great at your job, maybe you have a knack for getting people into shape, or perhaps you’re a natural motivator. Any of these assets, to name a few out of thousands, can be used to gather your followers and share something helpful with them.
Creating More Leaders
You may think that, once you have a loyal following, your job as a leader has finished. Yet, as stated earlier, we at Actions Peak don’t see it that way. Rather, the peak of leadership is not merely convincing others to follow you…but creating more leaders out of those followers.
A true leader knows that motivation and drive are at the heart of success. We are passionate about sharing these qualities and building them in others.
Not everyone reading this will be ready to become a leader, and that’s okay. Still, leading doesn’t need to involve a high-profile title or list of responsibilities. You may wish to remain low-profile and practice leading by uplifting others. Pinpoint those who have the vigor, enthusiasm, and drive to become a leader, and help them achieve it (only if they desire such assistance, of course…this can never be forced on others).
A true leader takes the role of a mentor, helping others to reach the position that suits them best. They offer support, encouragement, and guidance to build new leaders from the inside out. You have the potential to change not only your life, but the lives of those around you.
We see the desire behind your eyes and the passion that you hold, so get out there and become the leader you’re envisioning. Start leading more and following less!
Keep yourself reminded with our latest collection.