Today, I bring you three significant lessons you can learn from the lion. I assure you that by the time you are done reading this piece, you will have learnt something that will make a huge impact in your life.
Everyone knows that the lion is generally regarded as the king of the jungle. All animals in the jungle respect the lion. But why?
Why is lion the most respected animal in the jungle? Why does its roar make everyone else quake in terror?
Interestingly, the lion is not the largest animal in the jungle, it’s not as large as the white rhinoceros. It is not the fastest animal in the jungle — that honour belongs to the cheetah. It is not as smart as the chimpanzee, neither is it anywhere near as strong as the mighty elephant.
Yet, the lion commands so much respect in the jungle. We will find out the reasons in today’s piece.
• Attitude
That brings me to the first lesson you must learn from a lion: attitude.
You must understand that it is not about how smart you are. You can amass the best certificates in the world; but if you don’t possess the right attitude, you can’t be a true leader.
It’s okay to be smart, strong, or even fast, but if you don’t possess the right kind of attitude, you can’t be a leader. All other traits will be useless when you don’t possess the right kind of attitude.
So, what are your attitudes? Are you decisive or indecisive? Are you humble or cocky? Are you garrulous or laconic? What are the leadership traits you possess? These are the questions you must ask yourself.
Forget about your certificate for a minute. Forget about all the titles you are labeled with. When all those things are gone, what are your attitudes? When no one is watching you, how exactly are you behaving? Think about these things.
• Positive Mindset
Now, have you ever thought of how a lion that is not as strong as an elephant can devour an elephant? I love watching documentaries. And one thing that sometimes baffles me is why a lion is not scared of an elephant despite its height, largeness and all its overwhelming attributes.
When I did a careful study, then I realized why the lion can even eat up an elephant thrice as big as it is. This brings me to the second lesson you must learn from a lion: positive mindset.
Next to possessing the right attitude, a lion possesses what I call a positive mindset. It thinks the possible. When it sees an elephant, instead of quivering and saying “No, this animal is too big for me to attack, let alone consume”, the lion will rather say, “I can eat up this thing.”
That is exactly what fuels the lion whenever it embarks on any hunt. It believes that it can eat up any animal. The lion is that positive in its mindset.
Now, this is a big lesson for you as a person. What’s your mindset when you come across a challenge? Do you think possible or otherwise?
I tell you this, the reason most people in Africa are living below average is because they don’t possess a positive mindset. People are lazy to put their brain into functioning.
Many have developed a managing mindset, instead of an excellent mindset. Today, many people are comfortable with living an average life. Just because they can’t afford to pay for a class, they will rather remain where they are.
If they can’t afford a book that will change their life, they will not think of how to get the money. They will rather remain in their comfort zone. That’s not a positive mindset.
You can’t be a great leader if you don’t possess a doing or positive mindset. You can’t achieve anything significant in life if you don’t take charge of your thoughts and constantly think about possibilities.
• Mentorship
Finally, the last lesson you must learn from a lion is the power of mentorship. Haven’t you ever thought of the reason the lion has kept that kingship title for donkey years? It’s simply because of mentorship.
Lions understand the power of mentorship more than any other animal in the jungle and that is why they are always regarded as the leaders of the jungle.
When a cub comes of age, it begins to follow the older ones to hunt. The older lion teaches a the younger lion all the strategies of hunting. This is one of the things that is guaranteed a cub by its parents for it to also live an independent life.
A lion is not yet mature until it has mastered all the necessary skills of hunting. And this is a skill every old lion imparts to the younger ones.
What does that teach you? You must teach someone something you know. No matter what that is, you should have someone you are teaching. Of course, something positive.
The legacy of a lion remains untampered till today because of mentorship. If you don’t teach anyone what you know, you are toying with your legacy.
Even if you have to put a price tag on it, be willing to teach people. The reason I am pro-personal development today is because I strongly believe in teaching. And that is why it is at the core of everything I do.
If you don’t teach people, how can you influence lives? How can you raise a generation of people who will be loyal to you? The reason you never hear about some people after they are dead is because they do not train anyone when they were alive.
Look at men like Myles Munroe and the likes, although he is gone, his influence lives on. What do you think would have happened if he never trained people when he was alive? This is the power of mentorship.
I hope you will think deeply about these lessons and allow them to radically change your life for good.
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I remain Emmanuel, the exceptional being.
One Comment
Well done, sir. This is very insightful.