In the last post, I shared with you more about the reward we’re after — why taking this journey to self-leadership is worth it. We’re on a mission to find real inner peace so we no longer have to be at war with ourselves and the world around us. Even if we’re not at war per se, we want to become the absolute best version of ourselves so we can live out our highest purpose as a leader. We’re doing this so that we ourselves know what we’re after and can show that through our actions. We’re also here so those we lead may choose to follow a leader who is a living example of what’s possible.
So far, I’ve shared that you can have the reward once you cross the threshold from the ordinary world into the world of self-leadership. The process I’m offering is a path to guide you into the new world: the process of writing a script where you, your own hero, is guided by their purpose, values, and core beliefs.
This post is about making you aware that you are not automatically free once you cross the threshold. It’s almost inevitable that you will find yourself on a road back to old patterns and behaviors — those actions of the ordinary world where you seek externally and blame things outside of yourself. But this section is also to give you hope that even when you take the road back towards the ordinary world, you will never return there. Once you cross the threshold and believe that self-leadership is truly all there ever is, you understand that you won’t be able to lie to yourself for long. These messages will be lingering in the back of your mind because you know the way, even when your tests and enemies send you on a road back in the direction of the ordinary world. You will, hopefully, quickly remember that to come this far just to get this far is not enough. You’re far along on the journey, and when you find the road back, it’s just a reminder that there’s more to do and you’re not quite there yet. And that’s ok.
When you understand that there’s a phase in this journey that’s expected, let’s call it the road back, you’ll see that the opportunity of a resurrection is available too. The hero can pick themself back up anytime throughout the story to return to their path to self-leadership, the reward.
Once you embrace this as part of your journey, you’ll forgive yourself quicker. Once you experience the road back from time to time, you’ll be more empathetic to others who are on their own journey and find themselves on that road. Leadership, even of the ordinary kind, requires patience for the learning process. So, start with yourself. We can only lead to the level we understand and accept ourselves. To the level you’re able to lead yourself is as far as your organization will go. Once you know that, and you know that you want more from your people and your business, you’ll require it from yourself first.
Be kind to yourself and others when they meet the road that takes them a step back, because the only option, once you’ve crossed the threshold, is to continue forward. You can lift yourself up and resurrect yourself as many times as needed until you finally find true self-leadership. Even the road back is a step forward on the hero’s journey.
I teach this stuff called leadership. I know the process of building great organizations, and I know this process of building self-leadership. And, I stumble and fall and find the road back towards the ordinary world. Often. Self-leadership can be an exhaustive process depending on how much we need to learn and our level of resistance to the process. This journey requires us to look in the mirror and get really honest with ourselves. We see the enemy in the mirror until we see the hero.
When I find myself on the road back and am ready to resurrect, my hero works this process. I keep coming back to the process because this is an example of self-leadership. And it’s always about working the process, and it’s always available to you. Remember, self-leadership, and the process of working it, is all it is ever about.
I can’t make any promises about what your life will look like once you’ve resurrected. But, from personal experience and through witnessing countless others on their own journeys of self-leadership, I can say this — it’s totally worth it. Everything, and I mean everything, in your life gets better. Better results. Better relationships. Better health. Better sleep. A better life for you and those around you. Trust that if you find yourself on the road back, you are offered redemption by your hero (you). You have the opportunity to resurrect at any time. Trust the process.
I invite you to take action and ask yourself, what’s the worst that can happen? What would finding the road back look like? What’s the worst possible outcome of that? And if that did happen, how would your hero resurrect themself?
TAKE ACTION: Once you’ve crossed the threshold and made commitments to yourself to grow as a leader, you will find yourself on the road back. So, what’s the worst possible outcome you can imagine in that scenario? Write it down. Then ask your hero how they will resurrect. Write down your road back and resurrection story. If this is challenging, it might be helpful to imagine another character you know — real or from pop culture. What was their road back and what was their comeback? The point here is that you recognize that it’s always ok to have setbacks because there will always be an opportunity for a hero to have an even better outcome.