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Be The Diamond!
By
Ryan Underwood
BLING BLING! RAZZLE DAZZLE! Have you ever stopped to think of the power of the diamond? Have you ever wondered why a diamond is “a girl’s best friend?”
Think about the diamond for a minute—not baseball or softball diamonds, sports fans, but those sparkly rocks that most girls want (and cause the need for dudes to have a fat savings account!). Just hearing the word diamond evokes notions of style, grace, class, dazzling beauty, and lasting value. Diamonds are highly prized and sought after throughout the world.
Now, doesn’t that sound like a leader? Class. Value. Style. Highly Prized. We’re talking about you! But, you cannot be a diamond just by joining an organization. You do not become a leader by showing up for meetings and acting like one. And you cannot be a diamond just by attending conferences. It’s what you do with your membership between the conferences that makes the diamond inside come to life.
Want to know how to be the diamond? Follow the same path that an actual diamond does and you’ll be that sought after prize leader!
Diamonds Rise Up!
Diamonds Form Under Pressure!
Diamonds Reflect Variety!
Diamonds Hold Up!
Diamonds Must Be Genuine!
Diamonds Need Polishing!
Diamonds rise up. Diamonds start hardening deep within the Earth and then rise to the top. Leadership happens the same way, deep inside. As it rises to the surface, you will sparkle and shine next to the rough rocks and dull stones around you.
Diamonds form under pressure. It takes intense pressure to create a diamond. Leadership and class often emerge under the same conditions. Imagine your first big job interview, role play, campaign, or even asking a girl/guy for a date. How would winning or losing the biggest game of the season change you? What would you do if you got dumped by your dream date? Moments like these are the ones that begin to define you. It’s the pressure that forms leaders, and how you shine during these times will show whether you are the real deal or just a fake.
Diamonds reflect variety. Diamonds come in all shapes, sizes and colors -- including pink and blue. In the same way, leadership and style can surface in anyone. You don’t have to be rich, popular, funny or drop-dead gorgeous to be the leader. Class and leadership traits can be found in every heritage, every personality and every age. These traits are waiting to show up in you.
Diamonds hold up. As the hardest known natural substance, diamonds are durable and versatile. They both sparkle as expensive jewelry, and cut through just about anything as a saw blade. Similarly, leadership is what you draw from to help you find something to smile about in the midst of tough times. It can slice through bad attitudes, bad mouthing, and bad days like nothing else. Be versatile and tough!
Diamonds are rare. No one stumbles upon diamonds during the family hiking trip! Unlike gold or other precious stones, no one has ever found a diamond just laying around in the dirt. These rare rocks must be unearthed with maximum effort—by mining, digging or blasting. Finding the stone is just the first step. One diamond karat might exist in 100 tons of mud. So, freeing the diamond’s truest beauty involves cleaning, cutting and polishing. Leadership calls for the same. First you must find the diamond within (that’s going to take work!). Then once the leadership diamond is found it is going to take training, learning, polishing, imagination, reading, listening, coaching, and even luck to polish up and bring out the sparkle.
Diamonds must be genuine. Many have tried to pass off fake diamonds as the real deal. Some artificial diamonds might look strikingly similar to the real thing, but they cannot withstand much testing. They chip and crack under stress. Ever been around someone who seemed so amazing it was almost too good to be true? Ever been around someone who was nice to others to their face and then immediately turned around to thrash and talk bad about them once their back was turned? These are posers…imposters…fakes! They are acting like leaders but they are really just the people who make real leaders look good! Just remember that diamond leaders are rare. They hold up when others chip and crack and they do not pretend to be that which they are not!
Diamonds need polishing. Over time dirt, body oil and everyday wear can make a diamond look dull. However, the fire and brilliance will return with polishing. So it goes with leadership and grace. When you hang in the “mud” (bad behavior, mean people, negative actions—behaviors that typically don’t bring out your best) you will lose some of your shine. But that change does not have to be a permanent one. If you have developed diamond leadership and lose some of your luster, no worries! You are a diamond and with a little regular polish you will always shine!
So when you look at a diamond—remember to BE THE DIAMOND! Be the leader that shines, is highly sought after, rare, that rises up and stands strong in the face of pressure!
Ryan Underwood is the Chief Leadership Officer of TRI Leadership Resources, LLC, and the publisher of the LSN. Click here to learn more about Ryan and how to contact him!
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