Can humanity reach its fullest potential without inspiring leadership? Are title, rank, and formalized power necessary to lead us from where we are to where we need to be? What are the characteristics, criteria and credentials that make a person a leader? If history is any indication of future events, we should expect the most exhilarating leadership to come not from formal authority bestowed upon economic or political elites, but through personal power derived from within, many times induced from people of the lowliest circumstances.
In 1838, a man travelled from Baltimore to New York, and after a short time, settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He had imagined life in north to be significantly inferior to that in the south, due to the affluence created by the institution of slavery. To his surprise, it was a flourishing town, where both laborers and merchant class workers shared in the wealth created by industry and trade. He acquired gainful employment and started a family with his newlywed wife. He went on to write an autobiography of his life in the sweltering plantations of south, the moral masquerade in the city of Baltimore and his admirable journey to the north.
The Narrative of Frederick Douglass became one of the most influential writings of the 19th century, and was a spark to a fire that ended the institution of slavery. Douglass could have lived a quiet life in New Bedford, where although racism was not absent, it was minimal compared to abhorrent conditions he had known in the fields of Maryland. But Douglass remembered his brethren still trapped in bondage and was compelled to act on their behalf. Still a slave in 1845, he published his famous work, which propelled him to the forefront of abolitionist thought leadership.
But before Douglass became a leader of the abolitionist movement, he became the leader of his own destiny. He resolved to satisfy his insatiable yearning to breathe free. He taught himself to read and developed a skilled trade. He developed a plan, and executed it in the face of over-whelming odds with life-threating risks.
Through his story, we can see the first step to leadership is self-leadership. If you cannot successfully lead yourself, leading others will not be possible. Secondly, we can see the evidence of thought leadership. The first step in advancing society is to believe in a future that is brighter than the current reality. The words we speak and the thoughts we believe become the lives we lead in the future. And third, we can see how the resolve of an ordinary person, even from the lowliest of circumstances, through their dreams, words and diligence can change the fate of the world.
Douglass’ story of extraordinary resolve is only one example of how everyday people influence the outcomes of our lives. Before institutions are changed, before laws are passed, even before society changes its mind, a thought leader emerges who changes the course of history.
In the absence of quality leadership from our politicians, religious figures, and business people, we must be resolved to develop our own self-leadership. Deciding to lead yourself on a course of self-improvement is the first step to living your life to its fullest potential. If we lead ourselves individually in this manner, we will undoubtedly advance society collectively.
We need the thought leadership which will break the deficiencies of the status quo to move us toward a more perfect union. We need thought leaders who speak truth in the face of opposition, even in the face of the majority, because the thoughts that change the world are rarely those originally held by popular opinion. We need to listen to those who are speaking the truth of our times, with a vision for the future founded upon the knowledge of the past. We need to actively seek out our own errors, and refine our own positions, to draw closer to the evasive, omnipresent truth which brings harmony to our lives.
The world will be no better than the best its leaders can offer. A compelling vision of the future, combined with a sober judgment of our current state is required to move humanity forward. Both true leaders and demagogues have assumed positions of formal authority in the past and present, but those with formal authority have not always, or even usually, produced the most progress. It is the common person arising above their station, who leads in thought and example, which creates the most leadership known to the world.
The leader the world needs to find right now is you, in whatever capacity you’re in, to achieve your fullest, and by example, lead those around you to do the same.
The question remains, where are you going to lead us?
Photo courtesy of PBS.
Travis Buell 
What we need is that everyone agrees voluntarily and freely to the very same enlightened beliefs. If this ever happens we will all be singing the same tune in harmony.
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