Are Leaders Forged in Fire? #6 #cong21

 If leaders are not born but forged, we must ask ourselves – forged in what?
What are the main attributes of becoming a leader and is facing adversity a needed ingredient in becoming a true leader?

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1. To lead, you must first learn how to follow.
2. To become a leader you must overcome an internal challenge.
3. Irish students should have the option to volunteer for military service.
4. True leaders work for a higher purpose.

 Paul Feeney is the founder of Bodhi.ie.

In 2018, after 6 years of travelling and working online, I moved home to Ireland in an effort to bring everything I learned about business, marketing and building a balanced lifestyle to fruition.

Basing myself in Westport, Ireland. 
I want to share all the business knowledge I have accumulated over the past 10 years with fellow ambitious business owners who want to live happy, healthy and financially free lives.

You can follow Paul on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook,and LinkedIn or by email.

By Paul Freeney

If leaders are not born but forged, we must ask ourselves – forged in what? What are the main attributes of becoming a leader and is facing a challenge a needed ingredient in becoming a true leader?

A hugely influential “leader” in the world right now is David Goggins.

David Goggins is a retired Navy SEAL, accomplished endurance athlete, has completed over 60 ultra-marathons, triathlons, and ultra-triathlons, setting new course records and regularly placing in the top five. Goggins also once held the Guinness World Record for pull-ups completing 4,030 in 17 hours.

One of the main reasons why David Goggin’s has become so influential is that he embodies the idea of hardening the mind.

Once asked in an interview how he became the man he is, he replied:

“They see a guy with his shirt off who can do 4030 pull-ups in 17 hours and then go run 205 miles in 39 hours, But they don’t understand the journey that took me to get to this point and what got me to this point was I was just the opposite of who I am today. I was that guy who ran away from absolutely everything. The real me was this very scared, insecure, stuttering, got beat up by his dad, fake person”

As the baddest man, alive Goggins states clearly that it was adversity that made him the man he is today.

At age 24 Goggins was 6 foot tall and weighed 297 pounds (134kg) and worked as a cockroach exterminator.
Every evening he would come home and sit on the couch with 6 doughnuts and a large slushy.

One evening watching the Discovery Channel he stated

”everything changed for me”

A show on TV was depicting hell week – a training event people must go through to become Navy seals.

Goggins could see these were not necessarily the largest or strongest men, but simply those with a burning desire to be SEALs.
To Goggins, these men had what he lacked, discipline and a strong mind.

Goggins said it made him reflect on his insecurities.

Goggins had had his epiphany and was ready to face his internal challenges.

In a moment a new David Goggins was born.

He said he

“had to invent a guy that didn’t exist and he had to build him “through suffering”.

About 75 countries around the world have some form of mandatory military service.

However, Ireland is in a unique situation given our incredible 60-year unbroken tradition of UN Peacekeeping.

Irish participation in United Nations Peacekeeping operations represents the longest unbroken record of any nation in the world.

As a small neutral country, Ireland, since gaining independence, has sought to deploy its capabilities in pursuit of its principles beyond its shores. In the promotion of peace and security, Ireland has been led not by what it has to gain, but by what it has to offer.

Ireland is a champion of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda; capacity and protection building through increased training for peacekeepers; protection of civilians; responsibility to protect; and UN peacekeeping reform.

A New Options for Irish Transition Years
A new option should be introduced into Irish schools that allows students to join the multinational peacekeeping and humanitarian relief efforts of Ireland for 6 months to 12 months.

For Ireland to develop future leaders, we must offer Irish students the ability to face their fears and overcome challenges, whilst also developing self-discipline and a love of one’s country.

“To add value to others, one must first value others.”