Flash Mobs

Flash mobs are something that have become very popular over the country. A flash mob is when a large group of people suddenly assemble in a public place and perform an unusual act. I have seen videos of these and have even witnessed one at our campus but I just realized today that these flash mobs can be viewed as leadership. There has to be one person to start the act going and then there have to be followers also. In the video that I have attached you can also see the communication between one another but it is all nonverbal. Also in this video you will notice that there are some people who begin to join in on the song even though they were not a part of the original group. I feel like this greatly represents how leadership can inspire people. The flash mob was inspiring the food court habitants to join in on the holiday cheer. I now not only look at these flash mobs as something fun but also as an act of leadership.
Enjoy the video! It inspired me to go out and spread some holiday cheer :)

http://www.godvine.com/Flash-Mob-Surprises-Everyone-by-Singing-Hallelujah-in-the-Food-Court-90.html

I cannot believe that this semester is coming to a close! I have learned so much about leadership and I feel like I now view the world in a different way. I hold myself to higher standards than I did before and I want to be the best leader that I can be in every aspect of my life. Whether that is just being a good role model to someone or to help organize a big event. I look forward to taking all that I have learned and put it into great use! Thank you for a wonderful semester!

Power of Optimism

One day after school in the 8th grade I went shopping at Borders Bookstore with my mom, brother and grandma. We were all browsing the books and talking when my mom's cell phone began to ring. She picked it up and after a minute of listening to the person on the other line her face went blank and she dropped the book that was in her hand. We all soon learned that my mom had been diagnosed with breast cancer. After the initial shock had passed my mom became very calm and believed that everything was going to be ok. She started to take aggressive action to conquer this disease.
While doing chemotherapy she began to lose her hair. As her hair started rapidly falling out she decided that she didn't want to resist the process, so her and my little brother went to the local barber shop and shaved their heads together. My mom would joke that she was lucky that she had a nice shaped head and that there weren't any warts under all her hair. Although this was a very hard thing for a woman to do, she remained optimistic the entire time. After a few days she noticed that my brother's and my friend's (who were 9 and 12 at the time) would look at her bald head with sadness or fear. My mom didn't want people to be sad because she was so confident that everything was going to be ok. So the next day our family went to a place that did airbrush tattoos and she had a vine of red roses tattood on her head. After this, people began to start having the same optimism that my mom had and little neighborhood boys wanted to shave their heads to "see what picture they have under their hair".
I look at my mother and think that she is a true leader. She exuded such optimism that it was hard for other people to not start feeling the same way. She also took a tremendous risk. Most women have a very hard time when they start losing their hair and often times wear wigs and hats. My mom embraced what was happening while also empowering others to do the same. The amount of confidence she had was unreal and this was communicated very clearly to others through her actions. I really look up to my mother and hope to someday turn into a woman as strong as her.

(I have attached photos of me and my mother after she had her head "tattooed")

Michael Jordan

This past week I was recognized for my own leadership qualities. I was nominated to join a leadership honor society on campus called Rho Lambda. I am really excited to be given this honor and to better myself as a leader through this organization.

A leadership lesson I came across this week is that it is okay to fail as a leader and that it actually is usually beneficial. Michael Jordan's "Failure" commercial led me to this realization. Failure makes you grow as a person and learn from your mistakes. Everybody fails throughout life. But I think that one key aspect of failure that will help a leader is admitting when they have failed. In this clip Michael Jordan speaks of all the times where he failed. Followers respect someone that is humble and takes responsibility for these short comings. On the other hand, if a leader pretends to be perfect at everything, then the followers will be discouraged and think that anything they do short of perfection is a failure. I also loved how at the end of this clip Michael Jordan says that it is wasn't for his failures he would not have been successful.

Dr. Snavely

This week Dr. Snavely came to talk to our class and it was the first time I was fortunate enough to hear him speak. Dr. Snavely is the type of leader I strive to be. I already consider myself an optimistic person but I do have my times of weakness. Listening to Dr. Snavely motivated me to become an even better person. It is so true, as he stated, that your attitude is your choice. You should keep a positive attitude for everything that you do and it will make the tasks much more enjoyable. I loved that he was so optimistic about his broken foot! His analogy of leaving your problems in a bucket by the door was also great. My downfall is stress. I need to remember that the things I need to get done are not going anywhere so it is okay to push them aside at times and not let it effect my attitude. Dr. Snavely also spoke on not "lighting up a room by leaving it". That night I went out to a bar with a couple friends and I saw this idea happen right before my eyes. One of the girls was just whining and putting people down the whole night. The second she left, the whole group was so relieved and was able to loosen up. I thought this concept was so obvious but clearly some people are not aware of it. I really loved Dr. Snavely's energy and strive to be like him! Thank you Dr. Geist-Martin for asking him to speak with us!

Leadership for the Greater Good

On Friday I volunteered for a program called Project Connect. We set up a Thanksgiving dinner for homeless families, ate with them and then volunteered at a carnival afterwards. It was so eye opening and impacting being able to spend time with the families. As we were going on with the evening I could not help but notice that this event would not have been successful without the extreme amount of leadership. One leadership trait that I think all of the organizers possessed was character. They were not doing any of this for themselves, they truly wanted to help others. I think that it is so important that leaders have good character and do things for the group. In my eyes, someone who is able to lead an event like this and to give to others is the ideal leader.

Leaders at All Ages

Every summer I work at a salon in my hometown. This summer there was a woman who would always come in to get her hair done and bring her 5 year old granddaughter, Juliette, with her. Every time they came in Juliette would always sit at the front desk with me and we would play tic tac toe for hours while I answered the phones and helped customers. Just from talking with her I could tell that she was not like the average 5 year old. She seemed very smart and had such a positive energy to her. I eventually found out that Juliette was battling leukemia. She had participated in a Walk 'N Rock for Kids in Sacramento and had a goal to send 21 kids to a camp for children battling cancer. It costs $1,000 to send one child to the camp but through fundraising for the camp Juliette succeeded goal. Althogh she is only 5 years old I think that she is a leader and has many qualities to be valued. Her positivity and high goals are something that many adults lack. Through these qualities she was able to reach her goal. As we have mentioned in class, children possess the belief that they can accomplish anything they put their mind to. I think that the only thing seperating children and adults is extreme positivity and big dreams. Maybe adults should start dreaming bigger and BELIEVING that their dreams can become a reality.

http://www.examiner.com/sacramento-river-cats-in-sacramento/walk-n-rock-for-kids-making-a-difference-sacramento

Will's Wisdom

This video is something that I think everyone should watch. Will Smith explains the importance of being passionate about something and being willing to do anything for it. Most of the things that he speaks about are common sense but often times people forget about this "wisdom". I like to watch this video every so often to refresh myself of how I want to live my life and to remotivate myself. Like I spoke about next week, I think that people are leaders through the ways they live their lives. To me Will Smith is an exceptional leader and is someone I like to follow. I highly reccommend this video to everyone! Enjoy! :)