Setting the stage

Feinberg asked us a some questions on the third day of class. Why should I follow you? What have you done with your life so far to show me that you are a good leader? Our first assignment was to find out how many seconds we have left to live, which was meant to make us conscious of the fact that we only have so much time and that it is our job to make the most of it.

As this is my first blog entry, I am going to begin by discussing my experiences in the past and putting them into context of leadership. So far my understanding of leadership is making the most of every single opportunity; in particular, the ultimate and singularly most important opportunity of all: Life.

Life is a wonderful opportunity that each one of us has been privileged to receive and experience, so it is only fair that we cherish it and respect it for the gift that it is. That is, by making the most of it.

So what have I done with my life so far??? I came to Purdue because it was the furthest place away that I could convince my parents of letting me go without stating a particular career path or even what I was going to study. (I am from South Bend, so not very far). Also, my best friend from high school was going to Purdue so I thought that if it was good enough for her, it was good enough for me. Sounded like a good idea at the time. So far, not so good on the leadership.

I messed around for a year at Purdue before realizing I wasn't doing a whole lot with my life, but still not sure what exactly I wanted to do with it. I decided to fall back and re-group. A change would do it; so I changed schools, moved to Fort Wayne, and went part-time at IPFW for a year and worked.

Still not good enough. I was starting to get a vague idea of wanting to make something of myself, but something else needed to be done. Maybe moving to another city in Indiana wasn't a big enough of a change. So I decided to move to London. Not move-move but just sort of go there for a while. I had never lived outside the state of Indiana, let alone outside of the United States. In fact, I had never even been out of the country at that point in time. I applied to an American school in London, one that happened to do a study abroad program with Purdue. This was not a coincidence. It was also not an accident that the classes I took there were ones that were approved by Purdue's CSR department for retail management. I knew I wanted to come back to Purdue eventually, I just wasn't ready. I had to do something first. That is leadership: doing.

By now, it's no secret that I am very proud of myself for this bold move even if it might seem small in the eyes of others. It may not seem like much, but I think it's an okay start for 21 years of age. Of course, I could be doing more. There is always something else you can do to make the most of life.