"Real Leaders…Serve"

By John Hope Bryant and Kayelea Ann-Marie Doff, daughter of Rachael and Charlie Doff.

Kayelea, who cannot be older than 6, and I were talking today about how bright and smart she was, and how much I loved her, and what a great leader she would become one day, and then we began to talk about how people who are truly blessed, must seek to bless, give and serve others. Kayelea began to smile and to repeat this quote, "real leaders serve…," over and over again. Now, if she can get this embedded in her amazing little psyche, and I think she will, it will have an immeasurable impact on the way she develops as a thinker, a leader, and a human being. It will have an immeasurable impact on her as a leader, and her values as an adult.

We, each of us, should tell our children things like this. Not just that they are amazing and beautiful, and certainly not that they are dumb and cannot achieve anything. Remind them also that "to lead is to serve" also. That life is not just about me, myself and I. Moreso, that "you cannot call yourself a leader, unless you are prepared to serve," and if we do this – if we were about the we and not just about me – then most of the problems of the world would simply begin to solve themselves.

Think about it. You cannot call yourself a leader, unless you are prepared to serve.

With HOPE

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