January 17, 2008

FOLLOW THE LEADER

I just have to get this off my chest. As a firmly entrenched man of the 80's, there are some things a guy just doesn't do. Things like admit fault, watch Dr. Phil, ask for directions, say "Let's just talk," tear up during The Notebook or walk into a lingerie store by himself(it's underwear isn't it?). I had lunch yesterday with a friend who informed me that he had recently had a pedicure. He went on to extol the virtues of soaking, scraping, buffing, clipping, lavender scent and everything else "ped" related. I couldn't help myself - after this clearly hetero buddy whom I have hiked, joked, golfed, lunched, laughed and bitched with for years, told me about his pedicurial afternoon and how much he had enjoyed the experience, the only question screaming in my mind was, "What colour polish did you get?" I think the "guys" at the next table had had enough by that time and may never return to that restaurant.

I have this theory (yet another one you say, surprise, surprise) that there are three types of people in the world - leaders, followers and I-don't-know's. In the last case, the residents of that particular village rarely, if ever, read anything and would be hard pressed to name a significant event of any type that has occurred in the last week. They may check a left over newspaper at the coffee shop, if they have absolutely nothing else to do, for scores of the previous night's sporting events, but generally they wander through life waiting for something to happen. They spend most of their lives on hold, in expectation of bad news.
Followers, on the other hand, bring great value to society by knowing that they are "in the game" and that if they follow the rules, they can and will create a life for themselves and their families. They are a little jealous of those people in charge, especially business owners and political leaders because they know, if given the chance, they could do the job better themselves! They are usually a little in awe of those other people in society who have had all the breaks, have been born into wealth, who were given the title of CEO or president and who set the rules that followers must live by.
Leaders know one secret - there are no rules. Life is simply made up in whatever manner we please. Where there is a vacuum, they step in and create what is needed to fill the space. They don't wait for someone else to level the playing field, identify the pros and cons and determine the best course of action. They make up the course of action, decide the rules and step forward into the unknown and take the risk of being wrong. The world could do with a few more leaders, don't you think?

And to my pedoital buddy, you are obviously a leader my friend, but I fear that I cannot follow.

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