Leading From The Front

Walking the way we talk. “I would love to listen to your words but your actions speak so loudly I cannot hear you.” The concept of a track record is lost on many folks. The people around us judge us by our actions; our intentions, though perhaps noble, are meaningless if not followed up by the indicated action. How many times did it take for your child to tell you they would clean their room or some other chore beneath their status, which they then immediately blew off, before you wised up to their true intention? Not many I would guess. Often I have had someone come to me for advice, agree that a particular course was the correct action to take and then proceed to launch in exactly the wrong direction. I often wonder why they bother, but hold to the fact that asking means they wish to follow a different path, even though in their heart they have already decided on what they are going to do, the consequences denied or ignored.

When my son was a child I asked him why he agreed to clean up his room, then blow it off, knowing full well that a reckoning would come when he didn’t. The response was “I planned on doing it."When asked when that was exactly a blank look was followed with “I don’t know.” A parents joy comes in knowing that one day our children will be on the other side of that exchange.

It cannot be said enough; if you wish to be respected, be respectful, if you desire love in your life, be loving, honesty comes from being honest and intention has never cleaned a single room. The aspects of living we desire in our lives will only materialize when we demonstrate our intentions in action, begin treating those about us in the manner we wish to be treated in. Nothing real happens until action is taken, for talk is cheap and true leaders lead from the front.