Mirror on the wall, here we are again
Through my rise and fall, you’ve been my only friend
You told me that they can understand the man I am
So why are we here talking to each other again

Lil Wayne – Mirror

Hello, stranger.

Before you go any further, I have to warn you – this is NOT going to be a usual blog article. You know what happened? A few days ago I was asked to write about everyday leadership, and I got extreeemely frustrated by trying to pick fancy words that would make my thoughts sound powerful and inspiring. But, to be honest, I can’t say I’m an expert in anything so far. And I feel like I have to put my head down for the next 5 years and work hard to earn the right to share my opinion about something. But I can still share my stories, right?

So here is one – happened to me last spring, in Bosnia. I met a guy, let’s call him Jason. He told me that in most life situations the thing that stopped him from being successful was not the fear to fail, but the FEAR OF BEING GREAT –  avoidance of all the hard work and struggles that come up on the way to become a leader. He was completely sure humans are capable of everything, moreover, they see themselves as awesome, they feel they can, but what they lack are everyday actions.

So can we claim that everyday leadership is Jason’s discovery? No idea!

As I told you, I’m not an expert and I will not pretend to be one. But I do know that leadership is diverse. In a world populated with 7.6 billion people, there are 7.6 billion understandings of leadership. For someone – it’s changing the world, launching the biggest known rocket to Mars and fighting for peace. For someone else – making small steps to overcome their shyness, the fear to push themselves to take on new challenges and finally start being the person they want to see one day. We all have different ways, and all of them are beautiful.

I am convinced that people have already passed the point of thinking that leaders are only those who take higher ranking job positions. But still, there is this thing that provoked a big “CLICK” in my head once I’ve heard it: “Take a look at your average day – that’s how your life will pass”.

When I think about it – I realize it’s true. I believe that leadership starts here and now and it starts with ME at the very first place. And no matter what, every day I try to follow these few simple rules:

• Doing my job the best way I possibly  can
• Being honest with myself and others
• Enjoying what I do and changing something, if it doesn’t happen

That’s how leadership looks to me: prosaic, simple, mine, REAL.

You may wonder why I’m telling you all this. Fair enough. The thing is that I’m going on a journey – I will collect the stories of different people, those who make leadership happen every day in their unique and diverse way. And I want you on board. I want to tell you about those people.

Meanwhile, go look in the mirror. Is there anything that stops YOU from being the ONE?