Have you met anyone who prefers to go solo, refusing any assignment that requires them to manage people and resources? There are those who would like to just be individual contributors at work or in the community. They may work with others but do not want to have responsibilities toward managing anyone. If you force management responsibilities on them, they may not do well because of attitude, not because of competence. Some people have their minds set that way, and there is nothing fundamentally wrong with that. The only implication is that such people may not wake up the leadership giant in themselves.

Don’t get me wrong. Leadership is not about bossing people around, but about inspiring others to be their best. And when you do, people will look up to you. In fact, they may want to be on your team. They may seek your tutelage, mentorship, direction, or management. In that case, the least you can do is to provide the leadership that people desire in you. Going solo may produce a lot of results, but inspiring others and providing direct input to their endeavours will produce manifold results. Most of the big things that have happened in our world were results of concerted effort of individuals who have come together under effective leadership and management of resources. Even when you think of individuals who have seemingly made landmarks on their own, you must realize that they usually have people working with or for them behind the scenes.
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While it is not wrong to be a lone star performer, it is more beneficial to spread one’s influence on others, providing direction, inspiration, and support as they also grow into their success. If you are a talented person, or you are gifted in an area, you can expand the impact of your work and life by helping others to succeed. Don’t say, “I don’t want to manage anybody.” Instead ask, “how can I have a better impact on the world by growing other people?”

One of my favorite movies is the 2006 drama film “Pursuit of Happyness” which starred Will Smith as Chris Gardner. The movie reminds me that we are all in the pursuit of happiness. That’s why you will always hear people say, “I just want to be happy”. However, how many people are truly happy? Or, maybe I should ask, “are you happy?”.  Well, most people are momentarily happy when something good happens to them. It may be the purchase of a new car, a promotion at work, a new child added to the family, getting married or even drinking through the happy hours of the weekend. One of the downsides of the happiness gained through things and events is that it is always short-lived. Anyone may drink wine and be happy but will return to their unhappy states as soon as the effect of the wine is gone.  

The truth is that no one can drink themselves into lasting happiness, neither can anyone dance away their sorrow. If you need to have lots of money to be happy, then you will need to keep getting big sums every day, with the daily amount increasing with time, for the rest of your life. Even with that, you will not find lasting peace and happiness. Some people also think that other people can make them happy. If I can only get married, or have nice friends, I will be so happy. Well, maybe for a while. One thing I have discovered is that happy people are usually happy all by themselves. If you must have a particular person in your life to maintain your happiness, then you may be preparing for the biggest disappointment in life. It is improbable that someone will constantly keep you happy forever. Similarly, if you cannot be happy when you have little, it is unlikely that you will be happy when you have much.
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You may wonder where I am going with this. Well, true happiness is one which does not depend on external factors. You may call it joy if you so desire. True happiness is a product of contentment. You and I need to take pleasure in who we are and what we have now and not worry about what and who we do not have. I have observed that most people are unhappy, keeping themselves in misery and gloom, just because of what they do not have or who they do not have in their life. Here is the truth, you cannot hold anyone or anything responsible for your happiness in life. Be grateful for your current state as you hope for better things.

There are a few reasons people may sing your praise. Among them are high achievements, fame, stardom, and being in a position of authority. Because everything is ephemeral, we must remember that, as soon as the reason for praise is gone, the praise also ceases. That reminds me of the proverbial clay pot analogy. The clay pot was very good at what he did, and everyone liked him. In fact, an elephant died, and the clay pot took it in - all its meat, and people enjoyed eating from it. The buffalo died and he did the same. However, when the clay pot died, nobody wanted him again. That is mostly the case, and each one of us must prepare for the possibility of losing power or getting off the stage of stardom. Yes, I mean many past famous and powerful people are still alive and well but are no longer reckoned with as in their days of glory.

Someone may quickly think, “what about doing an excellent job, such that the glory never goes away?” Well, the fact is that it is not about you in the first place but about the thing you have that makes people sing your praise. Your true identity is who you are outside of fame and power. After you are gone, people may not remember how powerful you were but will surely remember who you were. Instead of letting the praise of people get into our heads, we should focus on our mission, the reason that brought fame and authority in the first place. I think so strongly that it is all about humility; being humble in our hearts first, and then showing humility in our actions.
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Here is the main message. We should not allow anyone to pull us down because of pride or arrogance. It is prideful to think and accept that people are praising us just because we are so good. That is not exactly the case, people are praising you and flocking around you because you are famous, rich, and powerful. If you think this message is only theoretical, you may just wait and see what happens once you have none of those things anymore. You will see how most people will desert you except those few that truly love you, and that, if you do have those who do. When the whole world sings your praise, stay humble all the way, focusing on your mission and the good works, which history will always remember.

I remember a wonderful afternoon a couple of years ago, when I decided to visit my friend a few miles away by bicycle. I rode there in about 10 minutes, and I was excited to see myself ride so fast, just like a pro. However, I spent triple the time on my way back. You may wonder why. It was such a windy day. I didn’t realize that I was carried by the wind when I was on the first leg of my ride, but on the way back, I rode directly against the wind. I can tell you, riding against the wind is a laborious and energy-consuming task. In fact, it felt like a waste of effort. When you ride against the wind, you get only minimal results from expending an enormous amount of energy.

Isn’t that what most of us do? I see many people expend their limited energy in a direction that does not favour success. They keep working hard without much to show for their significant effort. Meanwhile, doesn’t life work that way? Don’t we all have to ride against the wind? Any time we do things repeatedly without seeing results, we need to ask ourselves if we are riding against the wind. Challenges and difficulties may be likened to the wind, but it isn’t all unpleasant situations or challenges that are bad. They either hinder us from moving forward or aid us in climbing higher. It all depends on each person’s disposition to them. Some will take advantage of seemingly difficult situations to forge ahead while others will continue to wallow in the despondency of their problems. So, you may ask, “how do we take advantage of the wind?”
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Did you know that, for an airplane to take off from the ground, you need to raise the angle between the axis of the plane and the horizon of the earth? That angle is called the “attitude”. As an airplane moves at a high speed and raises its attitude to fly, so do we also need to raise our attitude to fly even in the gusty wind of life. Instead of keeping your head down in challenges and difficulties, you can maintain an attitude that helps you rise above the storms. When you ride against the wind, raise your attitude, and see the possibilities in the impossibilities.