I hope one day to be counted among the doers. I wish the same for you. Not among the thinkers or the sayers or the maybe-one-dayers. Certainly not among the meeting-callers or the know-it-allers or the complainers or the blamers or the things-were-better-back-in-the-dayers. Though each of these quick-to-be-naysayers are not unwise in keeping the trend-setters, go-getters, and all-in-bettors from diving in so quickly as to end up all-wetters or in-over-their-headers. Still, whatever happened to the true-believers and the I’ll-follow-you-anywhere leaders? Why does it seem that we have so many in leadership positions who are don’t-rock-the-boaters or painful-to-watch-self-promoters, and so few honest-to-God-game-changers? Where in the world are the soulful-innovators? Where are the self-less initiators and the let’s-go-for-it-risk-takers? And why do they always seem to get shouted down by the that’s-never-gonna-workers and the eye-rollers and the silence-keepers and the sure-maybe-sometime-down-the roaders? And why do the criticisms always come from the what-have-they-ever-doners?
I mean, maybe it’s time that we turn to the who-cares-what-others-thinkers and count-me-in-Kool-Aid-drinkers. Heck, at least we can count them among the actual roll-up-our-sleevers, because I’m pretty sure that great things have always come from the let’s-give-it-a-tryers and the sure-why-notters. It seems to me that progress and ingenuity have always arrived at the hands of the revolution-makers and the ambition-takers and not by the play-it-safers. If history has taught us nothing else, it’s that victory is not won by the how-much-we-knowers but by the doers, by the how-much-we-carers, and by the how-hard-we-workers. Because the true game-changers are not just policy-followers and rule-makers. And so it is that leaders should not be followers and followers should never, ever lead. Yes, we need all types and styles of leaders, as long as we never confuse action-takers with excuse-makers like we’re comparing triple-layer-wedding-cakes with vanilla-wafers. So let us wish for leaders who are people-movers and earth-shakers. And let us never forget that history is made by the history-makers and so shall doing be left to the doers.
