Kannan: “Dad, you said that you would tell me one by one the important qualities of leadership.”

Dad: “Of course I do. We learned about being a leader. Next, let’s look at self-confidence, one of the qualities of leadership.”

Kannan: “Okay Dad”

Dad:  “If I am leading a football team, then I should be confident that I can win, and I can guide my peers better. That hope will motivate you until you win no matter how many failures you face.  Do not lose your hope until you win.”

Kannan: “Dad, what is the name of the trust we place in ourselves?”

Dad: “The confidence we place in ourselves is self-confidence. Let me share with you an example from my life for this.

Kannan: ”Wow. Are you going to tell the story, Dad?”

Dad:  “Yes, Kannan. I used to participate in running races in the inter house competitions within our school. Every day, I get up early in the morning and go to the ground to practice. There is no point in just hoping without working hard for it. I was then studying in grade eleven. When the day arrived, I participated in the race. I was running in the first position when the race started but stumbled and fell in the middle of the race. Everyone ran past me and I could hear my friends and teachers asking me to leave the competition. But I did not give up. I had a hope in myself that I can do it and I got up and started running as fast as I can. As I was running, I realized that I was running past others and close to the finish line, which pushed me even better. When I passed the finish line and looked back, I realized that I have win the race. People who asked me to leave the competition lifted me up and walked around celebrating my success. I was the champion that year too. If I have quit when others discouraged me, I could have not been the champion that year.”

Kannan: “Dad, you are the best”

Dad: It doesn’t mean that we only fall while running, my dear!! A leader might fell hundreds of times before he even starts running. But he shouldn’t give up because of that. He should set an example to his peer’s and to the people around him on how to recover and bounce back from the lesson he learned from the mistakes and loss. You should set your goal and work hard and travel towards that, in order to achieve it. You should ignore all the discouraging and negative comments from others, and you should motivate yourself that you can win and never give up until you win. Anyone can be a leader if they have such qualities.