Who do you want to be?

By serendipity, i overheard a conversation between a father-son duo at our community park the other day. Father had asked the son what he wanted to be when he grows up and his son had shot back a quick response asking what his options are. The father was a bit taken aback and didn’t know how best to frame an answer in this case. Finally, he framed his response with a barrage of career options that his son could pursue.

It is no surprise that we pass on the subjective truth that we have learned in our lifetime to our next gen. Let’s take a minute and think how best to answer the son’s question here because there are many of us out there still searching out our options and trying to figure our best fit at such later stages of life. For some esteemed few, they have zoomed in on it and going all gears whilst for the vast majority the answer still remain elusive.

One way to find an answer is to figure the ‘Why’, but then that becomes an entirely different vicious philosophical cycle in itself. So instead, let’s make the options simpler, take the case where the options are twofold – to be the best in whatever field you chose to excel in or become a social leader. Here, by leader, i am talking about leaders who are acknowledged socially, despite the paths they choose or their personal success.

The merits & demerits of these 2 options are vastly different. The former could make you a personal success overnight with wealth & fame within your social group. The other need not guarantee you wealth but can propel you to be a social figure with influencers drawn from all walks of life. The former is an easier option and what most of us strive to do, be it working for companies or taking up the entrepreneurship mantle.

Since the second path is more uncertain, let’s take a step back and think, How is a social leader born?. I believe the answer lies in the way they create their spheres of influence which is a multi faceted journey taken by both influencer and the community:

1. Firstly, we start noticing them, acknowledge their thoughts & ideologies
2. Then we start getting influenced by them, they propel us to mould our thinking
3. Ahead, we start acting on their thoughts and they draw us outside our comfort zone, making us do things which otherwise we would never have thought of
4. Finally we start propagating for them, become their flag bearers creating a snow ball effect and sometimes this can create a revolution by changing the current landscape itself

We could relate to people who have this varying degree of influence in our lives, but the ones who create an everlasting memory are the ones who leave their mark behind forever. Then there are some, who doesn’t settle for an ‘or’ but have achieved the best of both these world’s, Steve Jobs being a prime example.

Now the ball is back in your court, who do you want to be?