Compare Less, Lead More

“Do not compare, do not measure. No other way is like yours. All other ways deceive and tempt you. You must fulfill the best way that is in you.”

— Carl Jung  

Comparison is a form of following. 

And we all follow someone, or some idea. 

And then usually we compare ourselves with the idea we follow – & the other followers of the idea – whether it’s a religious idea, a scientific idea, an athletic idea, an educational idea, a government idea, an artists idea, etc. 

We find ourselves comparing ourselves to those we want to fit in with. 

We mostly follow, and that’s ok.  

So what does it mean to lead?  

The answer differs for all people. 

To lead is to find your own style; to find what works for you.

Research and learn about the subjects and ideas and people and organizations you are interested in. 

Don’t try to imitate them completely – but think about what it is you admire about them, and try applying it to your life.

Choose multiple role models, multiple organizations, multiple ideas, and choose from a place that comes from within you – & not a place of just trying to appear a certain way. 

Keep learning & keep changing if you discover more things you are interested in. 

It’s ok to change. 

It’s ok to not conform. 

And it’s ok to lead.

Jump Into Life

“He who jumps into the void owes no explanation to those who stand and watch.”

— Jean-Luc Godard  

Are you a sideliner or a player? Perhaps both. 

Sometimes on the sidelines and sometimes the main character. 

When we lead in life, we must fully go into that time and space as a leader.  

Even when we are on the sidelines we can watch life fully – we can jump into it. 

And we owe no explanation to those who watch us.  

The majority of people are more watchers of life than livers of it. And that’s ok.  

The next time you are leading something, I encourage you to fully jump into your role, embrace it & enjoy it – & worry not about how others may perceive you. 

Trust yourself. 

DARE To Use Your Own Intelligence

“Have the courage to use your own intelligence.”

— Immanuel Kant 

If you’ve had a unique language and way of thinking and living for the first 25 years of your life, and then angry, uneducated, military-like men march into your life and tell you you’re wrong, & they try forcing their beliefs into you, would you submit?  

Sort of like what the Europeans did to the Indians. 

Or they march into your life and tell you that you are correct – but they hate it! And they want to change you to be like them. 

It happens more often than you can imagine. Conformity has always been a stronger gravitational pull than beating to the sound of your own drums.  

Einstein said, “Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.”  

It is almost always fear within a person that guides them to conform. 

And when you conform, you lose your independence. You stop seeing the world with your own eyes & you start seeing the world from someone else’s perspective. 

Many people want that though – they want to be led, and that is okay. 

But if you’re going to be an authentic leader, you must DARE to use your own intelligence.