“To be a champion, you first have to win the heart of the people.” Chinese proverb.

I am always of the opinion that a leader must be absolutely ruthless. He doesn’t tolerate weakness and doesn’t take no for an answer. He is one who pursues results and doesn’t buy into excuses. But above all, he must first be ruthless to himself, before he earns the right to demand the same from others.

A true leader is like an eagle in the sky – he expect high standard not only from others, but also from himself.

Here in lies the difference. A fraudster will tell you what to do, but he will never do it. He is an absolute hypocrite. A leader, on the other hand, walks the talk and tells you where to go and what you should do.

His demand for a very high standard not only applies to his followers but equally to himself. He understands that is how things are done, and without a high standard many ideas will remain just an idea – without being materialised.

Many people these days call themselves a “leader.” Yet, it is equally as easy to see through them. They are not the one who is willing to sacrifice themselves. They run in the face of adversity and difficulty, never really mustering the courage to face challenges.

A true leader must always practice the theory of “pre-eminence” as propounded by Jay Abraham. He is willing to take the higher ground and make the necessary sacrifice whether in time, energy or money first before expecting others to do the same.

More importantly, a leader of the industry must have had made all the mistakes. If we think about it that is the only reason why he can be a leader, he has made those mistakes and he can tell you why what you think will work – won’t. He is there to provide a service, to tell you the pitfalls which you should be avoiding.

Like a snake – a fake leader is always hypocrite. He tells you what you should do – yet he never walks the talk, always unwilling to pay the price.

A true leader doesn’t care about your feelings. He said what needed to be said knowing full well it will piss off a lot of people. A hypocrite will feed you the lies you want to hear. Come morning when the hype is gone, people will realised the message that a hypocrite is giving doesn’t help them in one bit and they will leave once the façade is seen through.

A great leader is one who wakes up from bed every morning with the intention to help others. If you as a leader what is his drive, what is his motivation to work and he answers, “Oh! I am just here to work to pay the bills!” then my advice to you is to quit that idiot immediately!

Being a leader is never easy – but it is worth it!

Making money to pay the bills is a necessity – but where the heck is the inspiration in that? In entrepreneurship, making money is just a by-product of a far bigger, nobler goal. If his objective and mission are to help others, to inspire others to be the best that they can be – that then sparks inspiration. That is a leader worth following.



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