Lollipop Moments

                                          

Being a leader is something that everyone has wished to become at some point in their lives. Many are still waiting for that day when they will change the world. However, as learned from the Ted Talk by Drew Dudley, “Because we’ve made leadership about changing the world, and there is no world. There is only six billion understandings of it” (0:5:41-47). Thus, being a leader is about making those small positive impacts on people's lives. It is about those “lollipop moments" (Dudley).

Many of us have dreamt of being a person who has changed the world and has made an apparent difference. And this is what leadership meant to us. It is about being a strong person, who stands their ground and inspires others. For example, Magdi Yacoub has been greatly known for discovering the largest heart and lung transplantation in the world. He has greatly influenced people and became famous for it. As much as we aspire to become strong leaders like him and many other great people, yet we tend to forget that we are in fact leaders, we were just never told so. And we go on with our lives never aware of the fact that we were a major factor and influence on others lives. Not only are we not aware of our influence, but we tend to “devalue the things that we can do every day, and we start to take moments where we truly are a leader and we don’t let ourselves take credit for it, and feel good about it” (Dudley 0:0-1:57-06). The fear of being considered arrogant or cocky just for identifying ourselves as leaders causes us to devalue ourselves and forget that we are leaders. Hence it is interpreted that we don’t have to be as influential as Magdi Yacoub to be identified as leaders, it is about making really small changes, the lollipop moments.

 
                                                

The lollipop moments don't have to be anything grand, they can just be a single smile. I remember there was this time in my life when everything seemed dark and I was unable to just regulate my life again. And I recall that I was sitting in the bus on my way home from school and I was looking out the window with a huge frown on my face. As traffic increased, the bus came to a stop and I saw the lady that changed my life. I recall her just signing with her hand to tell me to smile as she smiled at me and I felt an enormous amount of relief flood over me. That day I felt that all I needed was someone to smile at me and show me that things are okay. Even though I am sure she doesn’t even remember me or what has happened, she changed my life from that day. And I wish every day that I could be able to meet her again to thank her for making my day an unforgettable day and for becoming a very important person to me. Hence imagine how much a smile could change someone’s life!

 

                                       

Thus, we need to remind ourselves that we don't have to find a cure for cancer or win a Nobel Prize to be leaders. All we can do is just be nice and who we truly are. As Marianne Williamson said, “Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate. It is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, and not our darkness, that frightens us.” We hold so much power that we are unable to acknowledge. However, after watching the Ted Talk by Dudley, it became clear that we might not remember, yet we have influenced others. Hence, next time when we are asked “[Are you] completely comfortable with calling [yourself] a leader?” (Dudley 0:0:19-22), we can comfortably say yes.