You are the sparrow, not the snail, of your story - Reason 72

Would you rather be a sparrow than a snail?  An old song[1] used to do issue this challenge, which could be translated into: Would you rather be a hero than a victim?

OK, victim is a strong word, but reality is: most people are trapped in their own world, like snails that cannot fly.  Normal people avoid or are prevented to look into the sky, leave earth and the possibility of creating a new reality.

Leaders create their own story and they fly very high, avoiding traps and attempts of decreasing their value.  Leaders are heroes, flying sparrows in the sky of their lives.

What makes the difference is the fact a leader sees her or his reality as a set of choices and makes the best use of it.  So, instead of dragging on the earth of their decisions, in the case they went wrong, leaders reflect, open their wings and fly, not away, but into the situation, changing it and opening new possibilities.

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[1] El Condor Pasa (The Condor Passes) is a song composed by Paul Simon in 1970, based on a Peruvian folklore song .  You can watch it here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pey29CLID3I

(Excerpt from the book 82 Reasons to be a Leader)

Pressure is easy to handle - Reason 9

Pressure is increasing, coming from all sides: work, family, mind, desires, aims, co-workers, bosses, community, news, social network, etc.  And it looks scarier day by day with clear consequences to the mental and physical health.

Leadership helps to understand the pressures and create a sustainable strategy to face them instead of avoiding or running away from them.

The fundamental power a leader has is that she or he has chosen everything they live, no matter if they are roses or thorns.  When a leader is living through a rosy period, he or she just enjoy life and that is the time to relax and plan for the future; when the period is thorny, then all that energy a leader has may be used to help her or him to win over and go through any obstacle.

That means you as a leader know the apparent causes for pressure and you can deal with them.  Not only that, but stress won’t come to you while you are managing that burden, or at least, you will be able to manage it and keep it at low levels.

Do you know the reason? Any situation that creates pressure is a game for a leader and a play with many actors and roles.

(Excerpt from the book 82 Reasons to be a Leader)

Trust that inner voice

There are things nobody can really explains, like that feeling someone is watching you and they are, or somebody needs your help and you are able to guess it. Or that inner voice that starts to talk to you...

Scientists perhaps will tell you it is all part of brain science, or brain game. But, is it? I am sure most people have an inner voice that warns them something is odd, wrong or simply reminds them of their own values when they face a challenge.

In fact, it is part of being human: we were born without many survival instincts, very different from the rest of the species with which we share this beautiful planet. Instead, we were born with a set of values and principles, an inner sense of ethics that enables us to walk around this world without getting lost.

But, different from our brothers and sisters from other species, we can chose to listening to this inner voice. We can chose to follow a specific path or just go the other way.

And that power of election can make wonders... It brings a sense of pride when we hear about the sacrifices someone can make to other people, even when they are unknown and unrelated to them.

But that same power of election has brought us into a very complicated situation with corruption, terrorism and other evils attacking our civilization as never before.

It is time to refine our inner ears and pay more attention to what we are telling ourselves to do. And chose with that wonderful sense we all have, letting our ethics be higher than our desires or limited aims that come on our way.

Maybe that will prevent at least a part of what is happening now. Maybe that will allow the best of us to spread all over the world, enabling a better world to be created.

Can vegetarianism save the world?

From time to time, opposites don't attract each other. Out of the many possible styles, choices or human realities, being vegetarian and non-vegetarian has provoked massacres along history.

But time has changed and cultures too. Everyone is a little more tolerant nowadays and strict vegetarians are used to eat along with non-vegetarians and non-vegetarians accept easily their "weird" relatives or friends who seem to eat only lettuce. I personally remember that unforgettable moment when my mother prepared a GIGANTIC palmetto salad only for me...

So, perhaps now it is the time someone impartial can analyze and understand the impact of being vegetarian in the world, because I do feel a difference can be made there by choosing this lifestyle.

There is no doubt for me that to be vegetarian is healthier and cheaper, but that is my point of view. And with news of people eating horsemeat - after all, there is not that much cows anyway - I think some are really tempted to try. Most people would love to be vegetarian if it was easier to find places who cook that food well, or if they themselves know how to cook well - after all, we can't eat that much lettuce, right?

There is also the question of ethics and as science evolves to enable us know that animals also think and feel (old news for pets' owners), there is a final conclusion: what I am eating... oh, my God, it was thinking being!!!!!!

But what will really change people's minds and at least put the vegetarian choice as something more than an eccentricity is the news that vegetarianism can impact the world. Economy. Climate change. Life.

When that choice is there and it is clear that it is a good and powerful one, people can chose it in a more conscious way.

And that in itself is a big step for changing the world.