OPINIONS ARE CHEAP. What it takes to be a leader is SOUND CONVICTIONS. Don’t tell me what you think or feel. Don’t even tell me what you know. Tell me what you have proven. All it takes to have an opinion is to think it, but what it takes to have convictions is to prove them. This process of proving what they think they know is what my generation lacks.
I am convinced that many ideas being shared in my generation are quack and half baked because my generation lacks the patience it takes to prove their concepts before presenting them. It is like having the right ingredients for a meal but not waiting for them to be properly cooked, before their presentation.
In the absence of this proving process for our perspectives and ideas, all we can offer our generation are quack opinions that can’t get our societies anywhere. What does it take to convert mere opinions to convictions? It is APPLICATION.
Applying the truths we discover to the crucible of our day to day lives and seeing them work is what converts them to convictions, without which, one can not lead. One ancient writer admonishes us to prove all things and hold fast that which is good. This suggests that everything on earth can be subject to empirical proof if we are patient enough to do so. The convictions that flow from this process is what makes leaders.
From Opinion Leadership to Conviction Leadership
