There’s an awkward pause right after the conductor lowers his hands. Everyone wants to clap, but no one wants to be the first.
Then one person starts—and the whole crowd joins in.
Many times the leader isn’t the best or the loudest. It’s the person who is willing to go first.
As the cross country season winds down, I've started soccer back up. It’s common at the first practice for those who desire to be captains to try distinguishing themselves.
There are two forms of these “go-getters”:
Failure isn’t unavoidable, but the loudest guy isn’t the captain. He’s just loud (and annoying). True leaders don’t accept authority; they accept the risk of looking foolish.
For decades, experts and doctors claimed running a sub-3 minute mile was physically impossible, warning that the body might collapse under the strain.
But on May 6th, 1954, Roger Bannister ran a mile in 3:59.4. Just 46 days later, Australian runner John Landy broke the record again. Soon after, many runners began breaking 4-minutes.
Bannister proved that the four-minute mile wasn't a physical barrier. It was a mental barrier.
Bannister doesn’t hold the record mile time. But many consider him a historic runner simply because he was the first to try.
Crowds of people are waiting for permission. Don’t wait for someone else.
Give it to them.