Make Life and Leadership Matter
Baby, Child, Teen, Youth >
Woman >
Civilian >
Important-, Wealthy Person >
Certain- Race, Nationality, Religion, Opinions >
Elderly >
Male >
Soldier…
- Who matters more?
- Do some people matter more than others?
- How do we determine who matters most, or least?
- Who is responsible for making my life matter?
In a relative sense there is certainly a debate whether humans matter more than other sentient beings, considering which ones behave in greater or lesser productive ways…
However, our concern is only with humans in LWN 31/24.
In Note 29/24 I dropped a breadcrumb stating:
- Make your life Matter!
In this week’s Note I offer two Influential Leadership themes that follow on this statement, both are contained in the opening infographic:
- All lives matter… or none do.
- In life- in leadership, make your life matter.
The first theme is drawn directly form the Influential Leadership System Philosophy, which states that:
- Influential Leaders unconditionally accept that the quality and value of each life is inseparable from other’s lives.
Of course, this foundational statement includes your and my life.
Your and my life matter as much as anybody else’s.
In the absence of Influential Leadership there is a hierarchy in the relative value of lives. Look around, feel it.
We met it in the first breadcrumb last week—some lives are deemed of lesser or greater value than others, which enables mass murder and all other forms of economic, political and social demagoguery.
Listen to the news headlines. …77 people were killed in a rocket attack; 33 children and 21 women were among the victims… Who are the other ‘people’? If we highlight these two categories, what does it imply? Are men, the aged, the infirm not equivalent to get a mention?
Language is either inclusive or exclusionary… and language is what is in our minds, in our behaviours.
The second theme is personal, it is about what you and I do with our lives, and our latent leadership capabilities.
It matters not who you or I are, or our economic and social conditions, or any other personal circumstances—to matter we must pay the rent to be on this planet—add value, leave it better than you found it.
How do we make our lives matter?
You will find the answers in the Influential Leadership System, but let me highlight four dynamics:
- Establish a purpose for your life and each piece of your life. Our purpose is what we set; it is not given to us.
- Claim your self-efficacy and Social Agency—your capability to think critically, choose smartly and act with productive purpose.
- Construct a life and leadership philosophy that is your foundation stone—immoveable.
- Lay down your life for a set of principles that will keep you on track, till the last breath.
So, yes, all lives matter, but we must also give substance to our lives through the way we live and lead, and the outcomes we produce.
If you and I don’t make our lives matter, then it matters not whether we were born or not.
Let us not live rent free. Let’s pay the rent of life and leadership so that we leave things better than how we found them.
Make this week count!
Regards,
Colin @ Karoo
We Activate Apex Skills!
Leadership Weekly Note: 3124.290724
e: colind@karoo.world
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