"The True Hallmark of Leadership"-

I recently picked up my old college copy of Don Quixote. I opened the first page to see my name scribbled in blue ink and my address. It brought me back a couple decades to the carefree life of the 1980's before the internet, cell phones, and reality t.v. We all had more time to read the classics without the hypermedia distractions. We had more time to contemplate the trigger of self invention as the true hallmark of leadership. Miguel Cervantes places a huge burden of self invention on his hero Don Quixote,a middle aged, unmarried man, content to live a quiet life surrounded by books. Don Quixote begins a quest at a time in life when most people of his age where settled into a sedentary life. Instead, the knight and his sidekick Sancho embark on an adventure to discover worlds that will challenge, inspire and test the limits of human imagination. Leadership is a quest for excellence. And our ability to embrace self invention is an opportunity to discover our ability to influence others to believe in our vision.