Joan of Arc to a general: "I will lead the men over the wall."
General: "Not a man will follow you."
Joan of Arc: "I won't be looking back to see if they're following me."
Joan of Arc understood that the number of people following her did not define her mission or her leadership to accomplish that mission. Relying on the opinions of others and/or their support limits us.
Yesterday for Family Home Evening I read a BYU Devotional talk by Adrian Van Mondfrans that he gave on June 1, 1982 called "Becoming Men and Women of Principle." I feel strongly that the leaders I want to follow and the leader I want to become needs to be a person of principle. This requires developing good characteristics. Mondfrans suggested the following steps to acquire good characteristics:
Step 1: Read about the characteristic I want to develop. Ponder on it to gain greater understanding.
Step 2: Make the commitment to do it--over and over. Be stalwart, not easily discouraged. Don't make excuses for failures.
Step 3: Pay the price. There will be distractors because opposition is real.
Some distractors will be people who are not supportive as well as some who are critical of the leadership. At these times it is helpful to remember the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." The words, "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds, from Albert Einstein can also be helpful.
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