Humanity’s Only Hope – Leading With Honor

Greetings Leaders!

I look around at the world and think, what the @#$! So much is wrong with the world. Murder, Corruption, Drugs, Prostitution, Child Abuse, Wars, Genocide, Religious Fanaticism, Terrorism… the list goes on and on. I look at our civic leaders both locally and around the world, and wonder why man, with all his intelligence, cannot make the world a better place. If we could just learn to not make it worse, that would be a great start!

At times, I feel like a fish out of water in that some of the solutions seem so easy, if we could all just work together. I know I have my rose colored glasses on, but we are running out of time to do the right thing.

There is a quote that I found years ago but I can’t remember the author.

When Man’s human nature overcomes the nature of Man, leadership fails.

I truly believe that the nature of Man is basically good. But when our human desire for “stuff” gets in the way, we do things that make the world a dismal place to be.

The bottom line – we are running out of time. I don’t know when the clock will strike midnight… but it will. I’ve written about the Nuclear Countdown, but what about the bio terror countdown? I haven’t seen a clock for this, but it would follow the same principle. If we can’t learn to live together, some day, bioterrorism will become a reality. It’s not a matter of if, but when.

I don’t want to be overly dramatic, but the world is truly at a turning point. There is a lot of evidence for cracks in the foundation, that are getting wider with time. Unless we come to grips on how we as leaders will lead the people of the world, these cracks will engulf the world as we know it.

Why am I writing this now? The condition of the global economy is a direct reflection of our inability to Lead With Honor. The rich are getting super-richer, the poor are getting poorer. The tug of war between the haves and have-nots is growing. The blame doesn’t only fall on political and corporate leadership, but also union leadership, and those of us who lead others on a daily basis including, teachers, fire fighters, police officers, mothers, fathers, people in business, government employees… everyone.

This lack of leadership is directly responsible for all our problems. The growing influence of drug cartels, terrorism and religious fanaticism. The decline of the American education system, a rise in the youth suicide rate. World poverty, world hunger. Again… the list goes on and on. Poor leadership is responsible for all our problems.

What can we do? Lead With Honor. I don’t mean this to be self serving – I believe it is absolute truth. We need to Lead With Honor – to do the right thing. Most of you are just like me, we can’t influence world politics, at least not now. But, we can influence those around us.

What does Leading With Honor look like? Here are a few tips…

1. Value all human life
2. Never pursue something that will hurt someone else, regardless of race, religion,  sex or nationality
3. Treat people with the utmost of respect, even when you disagree
4. Never make a profit, at the unjust expense of someone else
5. Take care of the environment – it is the only Earth we have
6. Be ambitious, but don’t let greed cloud your judgment
7. Be open minded to alternatives, yours is not always the only way
8. Be forgiving of the past
9. Hold people accountable
10. Help the poor and needy

If we all learn to Lead With Honor, the world would be an awesome place to live. Why can’t we do this?

All the best,
All the time,
JT