LEtter from the editor
By Coltrane Curtis
Illustration by Haméd
Running a company doesn’t make you a LEADER.
Having thousands of social followers doesn’t make you a LEADER.
To put it plainly, calling yourself a LEADER doesn’t make you a LEADER.
This is how I define it:
Being a LEADER is a philosophical commitment. LEADERSHIP is positively guiding an individual or a community, dedicated to supporting their personal health and wellbeing with an unflappable allegiance to the people they love and support.
Needless to say, it isn’t easy and it isn’t for everyone.
It’s been said before, and I agree: To be a LEADER is to heed a “calling”—an external force that drives you to serve.
Some of the best LEADERS are unselfish and LEAD from behind, still full well in the knowledge and command that they will LEAD from the frontline in times of imminent danger, stress, and tension.
For inspiration to become the best LEADER that I can be, I look to the greats.
MLK.
Malcom.
JFK
Marley.
Gandhi.
Barack.
Mandela.
Jobs.
However, the best and most effective LEADERS are those you can personally touch and connect with; those that you have consistent access to and who have a vested interest in your prosperity, success, and overall happines.
I’m thankful for the relationship I had with my Dad. He literally leveraged everything he had for me. Through his living example, he gave me the blueprint.
But without the motivation to LEAD, the blueprint is rendered useless. I am driven to be the best role model, mentor, and LEADER I can be because of my wife’s encouragement and because my children demand it—I do it for and I owe it to them.
As I attempt to activate and implement Dad’s teachings, I’m left with questions:
Who will inspire and who will surface as the next LEADERS of the political, spiritual, business, and cultural worlds?
From systemic racism to global pandemics: Who will rise to LEAD us?
How can we support those individuals?
We need the “LEADERSHIP Call” to be answered.
The word’s future depends on it.
Our community’s survival is hinged to their arrival.