The Making of a Legendary Leader

Think of a legendary leader that you admire. This individual can be from any field of endeavor: business, politics, education, social action or family. What is that you admire about this person? What was their “greatness”? Now, look deeper down into what motivated and inspired them to do what they did. What are the values that he or she held to? Was it justice or compassion or liberty or service or … what? Notice, as you focus your attention on their values, how these values directed and supported their actions, actually made the greatness of their achievements inevitable.

Next, think of the things you wish to accomplish in your life. What great achievements do you wish to bring about? While considering these goals, what are the values that you will need to hold to so as to attain the desired success? Moreover, what will be your code of conduct that exemplifies these values? Spend as much time on this as you think your future deserves.

As you do this—as you begin developing your values and your code of conduct—you will bump up against some of your cherished beliefs. Some you will want to reinforce, others you will want to discard.

• What do you believe about your worth as a human being?
• What do you believe about your capacity for learning and leading?
• What do you believe about the times in which you live?
• What do you believe regarding your efficaciousness: your ability to be effective?
• What do you believe about the people you work with, the people you work for, the people who work for you? What do you believe about human nature and, more specifically, about the worth of those humans around you?

Solomon taught that our thoughts create our reality: As a man thinks, so he is. To state the maxim in another way we could say that our beliefs are self-fulfilling prophecies. We will live and organize our lives according to our beliefs.

With this in mind:

• What do you believe constitutes a “successful” life—a “good” life?
• What do you believe your purpose in life is? Why do you exist?
• What do you believe are your responsibilities regarding the sort of legacy you will leave your family and your community?

The answers to these questions are what are directing and shaping your life. Look at your life. As you look at your relationships, your finances, your career, your health and everything else that makes up “your life,” say to yourself, “My beliefs created this.” Of course, if you see something you wish to change, the first thing you will have to do is change your beliefs.

Believing in Your Self
One of the more core beliefs of a Legendary Leader is belief in one’s self and the legacy they wish to leave behind.

As a young boy I was always fascinated by biographies of Legendary Leaders. This fascination extended to myths and legends that were about everyday people achieving greatness. One of the ways in which the myths and legends mirrored the reality I intended to create and was also reading about in biographies of men like the great inventor Thomas Edison and the US President Theodore Roosevelt, was that within the leading characters there was always a deep sense of belief in what they were to become and to accomplish.

When young Arthur pulled the sword from the stone, in his mind’s eye he saw his future: he knew that he knew what his destiny was. When very few of the Knights would accept the idea of this young nobody with questionable heritage being exalted above them and, consequently, made war against him, he did not flinch from the battle, for he now knew where he wanted and needed to sit: on the throne of England.

Winston Churchill believed he was destined to lead Great Britain in a desperate war against the Nazis, long before he actually became the Prime Minister. This single belief was the North Star that guided his actions and kept him on course even when popular opinion supported the House of Commons’ utter rejection of his warnings about Hitler.

Churchill’s beliefs about being the Prime Minister of England were part and parcel of his vision for his nation. He had a vision of how the British could defeat Nazism and of how he was the man to lead them. When the King of England told him that he was to form a new government, he was not shocked and he was not ill prepared.

"(A)s I went to bed at about 3 a.m., I was conscious of a profound sense of relief. At last I had the authority to give directions over the whole scene. I felt as if I was walking with Destiny, and that my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial. Eleven years in the political wilderness had freed me from ordinary party antagonisms. My warnings over the last six years had been so numerous, so detailed, and were now so terribly vindicated, that no one could gainsay me. I could not be reproached either for making the war or with want or preparation for it. I thought I knew a good deal about it all, and I was sure I would not fail. Therefore, although impatient for the morning, I slept soundly and had no need for cheering dreams. Facts are better than dreams." (Winston S. Churchill, The Gathering Storm, Bantam Books, 1979, p. 596.)

Notice that neither Arthur’s or Churchill’s belief in themselves made them passive. Neither held their belief as a talisman that would magically create their destiny out of thin air but as a North Star that would guide their pursuits, and as a fire in their belly that would spur them on to great deeds. Beliefs and vision are not magic. The magic comes from the activities motivated by the beliefs.

The difference between a dream and a vision is the difference between a wish and a belief. “I’d really like for this to happen” is different from, “I believe and know that I will cause this to happen.”

Legendary Leaders believe that they will cause their vision to become reality: they believe in their efficaciousness. Leaders who achieve greatness know that they can and will make a difference in their world.

Legendary Leaders believe that they are as deserving of success as anyone else. I am not advocating an attitude of arrogance that says, “I am more worthy of success than others.” Working hard, working wisely, working ethically and working creatively will, over time, produce results: results that are earned and, therefore deserved by anyone who works in such ways.

Leaders that will leave great legacies and, so, become legendary, have incredibly focused minds. When George Lucas first began studying film making at the University of Southern California he said, “Suddenly my life was film—every waking hour.” When you discover the love-of-your-life and set about to inspire him or her to marry you, you no longer consider other options. No matter the beauty, the gifts, the talents, the character or the personality of others, they are not The One, and so never take up so much as a second of your mental or emotional energy in that regard. So it will be with you and the achievements and legacy your mind is focused upon creating.

Legendary Leaders are willing to take great risks so as to achieve great success. Would it shock you to discover that when Bill Gates (the founder of Microsoft and one of the wealthiest people in the world) was a young boy his favorite game was “Risk”? A game about world dominion! Whether it is the risk of political stature and cachet in speaking the truth as you see it (Churchill) or the financial risk of leaving your cushy, prestigious career as a University professor, buying up a trunk load of your recently published book (the one that the publisher told you would only sell a few thousand copies) and going to scores of interviews in small town radio stations across the USA—and at the end of the year having a best seller and making more money in one year than you had in the previous thirty-six years (Wayne Dyer, Your Erroneous Zones), the vision is worth the risk.

Leaders who become legends and leave great legacies relentlessly and proactively work toward the realization of their visions and goals. Such leaders are defined by consistent, positive moves toward their outcomes: they are not always reacting to circumstances or being led around by their noses by some focus group. You can hear this attitude in the words of Akio Morita (co-founder of Sony Corp. of America): “Our plan is to lead the public with new products rather than ask them what kind of products they want. The public does not know what is possible, but we do.”

For the Legendary Leader, the greatest sin is settling for the easy life. Great leaders have great hearts that strive for greatness of character, greatness in service and greatness in productivity. Nothing short of a Great Life will do. This is why such leaders are capable of great sacrifices and great risks. As Jim Collins noted in his book, Good To Great, “Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life. The vast majority of companies never become great, precisely because the vast majority become quite good—and that is their main problem.” (Harper Business, 2001, p. 1.)

copyright Monte E Wilson, 2007