1. Let's get it. This morning. I read from the Tao Te Ching and Dow is spelled Tao Te Ching . Well, I guess Tao Te Ching should be spelled that way. And it's number 58. And I really like reading this. Um, they're just, I mean, they're one page passages. And sometimes these messages that are there, some days I read it, I read out of it and I, You know, I just, all right, well, I read it for the day and I go on to something else.
And then some days are one of those, wait, what did I just read kind of moments. And that was one of these today. And I've read this book several times and sometimes I'll have a bookmarked or highlighted, I didn't highlight anything on this in years past. I don't know. I just glazed right over it. And it's funny, this is why I like random reading. Reading something new every day is because you're in different seasons in your life.
And just because you may have read something in years past doesn't mean that you really absorbed it. And today, this is what I absorbed. So let me read it to you first, and then what I'm going to do is I'm going to go back and, and unpack this or riff what it, what it actually means to me. Here's what it says. If a country is governed with tolerance, the people are comfortable and honest. If a country is governed with repression, the people are depressed.
And crafty when the will to power is in charge, the higher the ideals, the lower the results. Try to make people happy and you lay the groundwork for misery. Try to make people moral and you lay the groundwork for vice. Thus the master, which is you. If when you master the, the, the data Ching, the, the, the Dow is the way. That's, that's basically what it means. And so when you're just living the way, it's a totally different concept.
So thus the master, which is you, is content to serve as an example and not impose her will. She is pointed, but does not pierce, straightforward, but supple, radiant, but easy on the eyes. So let me unpack this a little bit and how I see it. And if you see it a little bit different way, man, I'd love to hear from you on this. So here's the thing. Leadership is often misunderstood.
And people think that a leader has to be perfect, that they got to have everything figured out, but leadership isn't about control at all. It's not about forcing people to follow your standards, and it's not even about being right. Leadership is serving as an example, and this is where most people get stuck. They don't step up because who knows you better than you? You know all of your own flaws.
You remember your mistakes, you remember all your missteps, your miscues, your misfires, all of your promises yet were broken, all of your commitments yet were shattered. You know, all of your failures, you know, all of your scars. And so the minute you start leading and leadership is just improving. The minute you start improving, you shrink back. And you discount yourself and you say, who am I to lead? But you gotta ask yourself this question, who better to help than the person you once were?
That's what leadership is. Leadership is growth. Leadership is progress. It's a movement forward. And even if it's just you, you're still a leader. Because you're leading yourself to improvement. So have you screwed up? Good. That means that you've learned flawed. Yes, indeed. Welcome to the human race, but you've also made progress and you forget about that. You've led yourself out of who you once were and that alone sets the framework for others to actually follow. Leadership.
Isn't about making other people follow you. It's about being an example. The Tao says the master is content to serve as an example. And here's what's freeing about this. When you're serving as an example, you don't have to live up to anyone else's standards. You don't have to fake perfection. You don't have to force anyone to change. You just live what you're learning. That's what my bio says on my Twitter. Living what I'm learning. Or X. Living what I'm learning. That's it.
Back to the Tao pointed. but does not pierce. You're sharp. You have direction, but you don't stab others because they're not following your path. You don't even judge them. You're serving. As an example? Straightforward, but supple supple means flexible. So you're not saying one thing and then talking behind people's back and another. No, you're straightforward. You speak the truth with compassion, with love, but you're also flexible. You're not rigid.
You can see things other people's way, even though you may not live that way. That's cool. That's your way. That's fine. I'm good with that because I'm serving as an example. I want to live my truth. It's as simple as that. You're radiant. But easy on the eyes. You carry strength, but not in a way that overpowers or pushes people away. You live what you're learning. That's it. That's what leadership is. Life is simple, man. It is. It's not easy, but it's simple.
But we complicate things because we're trying to meet other people's expectations. Instead of being just who we are, serve as an example, serve as an example, even on the days when you fail, even on the days when you don't get it right. That's why I've never been hung up on podcast downloads. I've had moments of discouragement. Absolutely. You know what it's like to just pour your heart and soul and get like two downloads.
Three, early on, man, back in 2017, man, I would get like three downloads, maybe four, two of them were for me listening on different platforms. I don't know who the other two were, have no idea, but I didn't get hung up on it because I had to do it for me. I was just living my truth. I was putting it out there. And I was living that every single day. It just set the sale.
God has blessed me with an ability to communicate and to be creative through my communication and to synthesize something that I've taken from something and then not to bang the drum and say you should be like this and I'm not. No, I'm trying to get it right just like you are and I'm serving as an example as you should be too I never let the downloads stop me. They're not gonna stop me because this is something bigger than a download I don't care about that.
Appreciate it, but I don't care about that. My life doesn't revolve around that My life revolves around Bringing a message. There's enough negative bullshit out there. You don't need any more of that. I just want to serve as an example of bro. Look at my history. I've gotten it wrong a lot, but I'm still trying to get it right every day. I just try to improve. I just keep living what I'm learning and I keep sharing that some days it works.
Some days it doesn't, but that's part of the process, isn't it? I'm not trying to tell you how to live. I just show you what works for me. And that's all any of us can do, right? And that's why I'm sharing this today. I'm bringing this to you today because I feel an unction in my spirit that some of you that are listening are thinking about starting something, or maybe you were just about to start and you pulled your punch and you said, no, who am I a lot?
You're a lot and you're serving as an example. So whether it be a podcast, a YouTube channel. A blog, an organization, whatever it is, man, start. You've hesitated because of your past. You've hesitated because of your imperfections and your doubts. Forget about all that. How liberating and freeing it is that the only thing you have to do is serve as an example, a living example. Look at how far you've come. Don't forget about that. Acknowledge your progress. Keep improving. That's leadership.
It's really that simple.