Tourists went through Europe and got to an obscure village. It was so obscure, in disdain; they asked one of its oldest residents, “What great men have been born in this village?”
In a heartbeat, the old man responded, “No great men were born in this village, only babies”.
Growing in your leadership and cause is like planting trees. You plant a tree that is not a tall as the others. It takes time for trees to grow.
You have to nurture your tree. Trees generally grow in obscurity until one day, they become prominent; they’re big and noticed.
Before they can give shade and nutrition to their environment and its inhabitants trees have to survive the perils of their environment.
growing leaders should treat their leadership and cause like planting trees
When someone gets their break people often ask questions along the lines of, “Where did you come from all of a sudden?”. As if people just pop out of nowhere like Houdini in at the end of one of his tricks.
There is no such thing as emerging all of a sudden. Great leaders are carved in the trenches. Before their influence catches the attention of the world they toil in the trenches of obscurity.
The assumption that one will, “all-of-a-sudden”, have great influence and credibility is a fallacy.
It is the trenches of obscurity that character is proved. The work you put in the days of obscurity is the work you will do when the spotlight is on you.
Never make the mistake of holding back so that you can give when you hit “pay-dirt”. It is the work you do in the obscurity that builds your platform for greater influence.
Heretics start and work through people not believing in them or their cause. They have disdain for the status quo even when others love and protect it.
You have to earn the right to be heard. You have to do the work that will give you credibility. You will never have a track record without working with what you have where you are.
You cannot lead great change if you cannot lead and build passionately in without a spotlight. What you rehearse is what you will present. Rehearse well. Be bold. Be /ˈherətik/.