DEVELOPING FUTURE LEADERS -Become Dynamic and Vibrant Leaders

Our Children are the greatest assets that we could possess during our life time.   

They face many challenges in this ever changing world. I am glad to be penning down my thoughts and advice to equip themselves to meet the challenges successfully and seize the opportunities that may arise from those challenges. In my humble opinion the pre requisite to be a successful, dynamic, effective and efficient leader is to be a courageous and excellent communicator. If you can communicate well, you can lead.  

“A True leader is some one who could make an individual, group or a nation to do what they did not want to do and make them happy for doing it voluntarily.”

A “L-E-A-D-E-R”, has to Lead by examples, Enthustiastic, Achiever, Decisive, Encourage team members and Ready to learn and Teach. In order to carry out these functions he or she needs to be a effective communicator. A leader has to be bold, Charismatic, self confident, Team Player, Caring and Sharing, Empathetic, Transparent in dealings and Manage time wisely and be considerate to his or her fellow members. Some are born leaders and others are made as leaders.   

A leader should focus on success and view failure as unfinished success and implement contingency plans and succeed in his or her endeavours. Should success follow the endeavour it has to be considered as a “Win” and if not it has to be considered as a “Gain”. In other words a lesson learnt and experience gained for future success.   
Your motto in life has to be, “Be Prepared & think and Act now”. Your policy in life is to have a “growth mindset”.

You should always focus on “Continuous Improvement and Self Development”.You have to follow the cardinal rules during your childhood. Those are Responsibility, Respect and Obedience, which are considered as the Triangle of Student duties. Your prime objective has to be on Learning and growing.The Great Tamil Poet and Philosopher, Auvvaiyar has adviced us to “ Be focused on Learning even at your 100th year.”   

Time Management is vital and detrimental for your success and future.   

Never say that you do not have sufficient time. Let me prove that you have sufficient time.   

We may expect that on an average one could live up to minimum of 70-75 years  If you are 15 years of old, then you have 1,892,160,000 seconds of time ahead of you    ( 75-15=60years × 365 days × 24 hours × 60 minutes × 60 seconds).   

Now tell me whether you have sufficient time or not. My other question is what are you going to do during that time period.   

I strongly recommend you to have a “Vision and Mission statement” for your life.   

 Your Parents, Elders, Principals, Mentors and Teachers could guide you to have such a statement. Ask your self the following questions right now; Where am I in life now?   

Where do I want to go in life? How do I get there? What time period should I take to reach that particular position? What resources do I need? Who could help me?What are the contingency plans?What will I do after reaching that desired position?   

You should have a vibrant plan coupled with goals and objectives. Most importantly “planning is vital for your success”. “Plans are nothing and Planning is everything”.

In marching towards victory as a leader you need to have implicit faith in you, your god and destiny. Always love our Almighty God for who he is? And not for what he can do.   Do not pray for power, possessions, authority and wealth. Rather pray for wisdom, serenity, tranquility and peace. At home make it a habit to pray with your family members.   Love thyself, family, friends, neighbours, relatives, community, society and Country.   

You may have to face the problems such as Stress, anxiety and depression.   

You have to overcome your limitations and failures. Thus, Stress too has to be overcome.   

People today talk about managing stress. Lectures, Seminars and workshops are conducted on stress management. A little stress is not that bad for you it will propel you to act. Too much of it is not good for your mind and body.   In my humble opinion you need to endeavour to successfully overcome stress and not merely manage it. Do not worry if you are too tall, too short, too fat, too thin and white or black in complexion. None of that is needed to be a leader. Always “feel good” about your body, mind and spirit. If you take the Animal kingdom, the Cheetah is the fastest, the Blue whale is the heaviest, the Chimpanzee is the smartest, the Owl is the wisest, the Peacock is the prettiest, the Giraffe is the tallest and the Elephant is majestic, but none of them is the king of the animal kingdom.The lion which does not have any of these qualities is the king.   

So do not focus on what you do not possess and focus on your abilities and capabilities. Then you too could become a leader. Seek the support of your mentor to be guided and advised during tough times. Changes are inevitable in your life. Do not resist change. Accept changes and embrace it. If you do not see any changes then create the changes. Change is not equivalent to Pain. It is equivalent to Growth and prosperity. In order to be No.1 you need to be creative and innovative. As a leader you should create, implement, evaluate and manage changes.

During my seminars, I used to ask my students the question on there ambition in life. Some want to be doctors, some want to be engineers, some want to be managers, some want to be IT specialists, a few want to be space travellers and most of them want to be teachers and the list goes on. But none of them want to be a happy or joyful person throughout their life. Happiness and joyfulness are not the same. Happiness is transient which comes from getting tangible things externally such as getting a new phone and having a hearty meal or a
 chocolate bar. You will be generally tempted to have more and more. By doing so you may end up with stomach ailments and the happiness eludes you. But Joy is an internal affair. Such as getting good marks and rewards and getting appreciated for your efforts, kind words and deeds and having a good understanding and relationship with your elders, teachers, parents, siblings and friends. Doing charity work and social work. Helping others, Reading books, doing volunteer work, gardening, swimming, engaging in sports, listening to music and praying with your family as well as quality time spent with your family members and friends. So focus on being joyful. Also, be Contented with what you have.

(The writer is a Professional Marketer, Specialist in Professional Communication Skills, Positive thinking and Inspirational lecturer, Life Education and life Management Coach. As a service to the community he is available for coaching and counseling the needy children at schools, upon request).