Why would anyone want to follow you?

I found myself very inspired today after reading a post on Facebook by a colleague Aaron Creed who I was introduced to thru my closest friend and colleague Tina Levrant, to really stop and think about what makes a person so special that people actually want to follow them and learn from them....

You know, whether your an employee working for someone, an apprentice or even a journeyman in your field, we have all had people come into our lives that inspired us to want to do and be better then we were at that particular time and place in our lives....

For myself, although I have been inspired many times to follow and learn from a person, it has to date always ended in disappointment as what I initially thought was a 'real' person who led by example turned out to be just another person out there trying to be something that they clearly were not..

Each time though, was not for not as I came away with invaluable information, education and tools that have aided me in not only my business but in how to live life and most importantly, how not to live life...... Being a strong person and leader myself I find myself continuously looking for people who know more then I do and who have experienced much more then I have to date in my nearly 38 LOL years of age....As I crave that knowledge, crave it as if it were a drug....

I am constantly finding myself recalling a sage statement that I have heard many times over in my life: When your green your growing...... When your ripe, your rotten.....

Thinking of that mantra always brings to me a sense of humbleness and a knowledge that my life has really just begun and that I still have so much to learn......Which leads me back to the title of this post "Why would anyone want to follow you?".... It's a great question really but a question that many don't ponder far often enogh and even sadder never even ask themselves...

No one is 'perfect' and although this statement is true far too many hide behind in it as an escape from actually having to take accountability that their leadership for lack of a better term, Sucks.... And after all these years after hearing it more times then I can recall, I now see it for what it is: Weakness....... Weakness plain and simple....

Myself, I don't strive for perfection, but what I do strive for is improvement..... This is really a profound statement once you get over the fact that you very possibly, were actually yourself quite offended at my previous statement... Once you can grasp it and more importantly embrace it, you'll open yourself up to all of the possibilities that are just waiting for you to take a hold of them...

If you want to lead a life that you can be proud of, stand up for what you believe in and never let that go... Don't compromise your core values just to earn a buck or two or to 'get in with the "in crowd"..... If you will do this people will naturally be drawn to you and want to follow you because they want what you have: Courage, strength, bravery, constitution and perseverance.....

And lastly a warning: Expect much rebuttal and harsh judgement when you begin to make this change in your life.... For most are followers just looking for someone to inspire them, but few, very few are true leaders..... When you encounter the rebuttals, rest assured and rest easy at the end of your long days knowing that you are on the right path and changing lives including your own for the better each and every day......

We get one shot on this wild ride called life so strive each day to be the best and better even then you are at any given moment and you will soon find that you will be........

To your continued Success!

-Jana Enos ;)