The Messiah Myth
Welcome to Love Mondays, a weekly newsletter designed as a 3-minute hit to fire up the other 10,077 minutes of your week.
Change has never been the story of a lone wolf, but our culture of hero worship creates a false illusion that history is made and shaped by distinctly bold and uniquely gifted individuals. Instead, change is the tale of a person who created a compelling sense of urgency that inspired others to pay attention.
Who, in your world, hears, understands and amplifies your story?
Write down their names.
Consider: how do you enable the people who are willing to enable you?
Practice: honing in on what people find compelling about your big idea
Decide to: create the opportunity for these people to collaborate on your project
When we lose the lone wolf, we gain the pack.
Theoretical advances are not made; they emerge from within communities, and it is often difficult to equate the effort into a single “discovery.” Even when theories come together at the hands of particular leaders, assigning credit is an exercise rife with intrigue. Some of history’s most momentous scientific breakthroughs are no exception: Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace came up with theories of evolution concurrently; the dispute continues over whether Isaac Newton or Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz invented calculus; a new investigation is testing the evidence surrounding the significant contribution of Einstein’s wife, Mileva Maric-Einstein, to the theory of relativity.
If we reframe our fixation on hero-worship, we are met with the knowledge that we are each a part of the leadership story. Killing off the heroes of our social narratives means stepping up to become protagonists ourselves, a prospect that is at once exhilarating and terrifying. True collaboration is the only way to solve the complex myriad of issues we face. Believing in change is easy when we believe others will lead it. But believing in ourselves and stepping up is the only way to ensure change actually happens.
Thank you to everyone who’s joined our now 15,000+ strong community of Easy Tiger and Love Mondays readers. We appreciate your readership. If you’d like to help us spread the word, why not share Love Mondays with a friend?
Hey one more thing before you head into the week, I have an epic leadership challenge kicking off in February 2022. Join a community of like-minded changemakers taking on daily 15 minute challenges to hone our leadership skills. The world needs more epic leadership. Are you up for the challenge?
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