The Key to Great leadership

Rediscovering the Principles of outstanding Service

                                     by

Peter Burwash* 

Publishers  Jaico Books, Jaico publishing House,

121, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Mumbai- 400 023

( Originally by Torchlight Publishing, PO Box 177, Badger,  CA93603)

                                   -From page 138-

(More paragraphs have been created for easy web reading)

                        23                     

       Have a Spiritual Foundation

   " one truth stands firm. All that happens in world history rests on something spiritual. If the spiritual is strong, it creates world history. If it is weak, it suffers world history"

The more interviews I had with leaders, the more I realized that faith was a very important part of their daily lives.

It is important here to separate spiritual foundations from religious foundation.

Spiritual foundations heal wounds and make us better people. Spirituality is opposite of materialism and include things you cannot place in your hand, like love tenderness, caring, understanding, thoughtfulness, dedication, commitment etc. It is these spiritual foundations in life that also enable us to see ourselves as vulnerable and to fell there is higher being or power.

President DeKlerk of South Africa, who has  helped to engineer the abolishment of apartheid in his country, receives about 15 death threats a day. When I asked him how he dealt with this incredible pressure he pointed to the sky and said, " My vertical relationship with that gentleman".

I was reminded of his statement while watching a television interview with an American soldier returning from Gulf war. The interviewer asked what he had learned over there and Sgt. Bobby Nichols uttered that famous phrase, " there are no atheists in bunkers".  Great leaders also realize  their own vulnerability, and a belief in a higher power is a common factor among them.

How do you rate your spiritual foundation?

About the author:

A tennis pro with 19 international titles, Peter Burwash, found his own tennis service company in 1975. Having  traveled more than 400 times around the equator and visiting 130 countries he practically witnessed service industry in every culture at every level a person comes across. A successful entrepreneur, keynote speaker, tennis champion also became a best selling author through his incisive analysis of life of successful people.