Someone once said that managing ourselves is the most difficult work in the world. There are times when I don't believe I possess enough leadership skills to control other people or myself. However, I think real leadership begins with confidence. Belief in yourself, belief that anything can be accomplished, belief that we can trust in both someone or something. Only if we have sincere belief can we begin truly ambitious projects, and continue to manage them. Only if we have leadership can we overcome any problems we may confront. Because of this belief I want to start a dialogue about what I think constitutes true leadership.
     In the global community, developed societies and leading universities need men and women who have the courage and leadership qualities allowing them to manage others during emergency as well as compose themselves when everything seems to be going wrong. Unfortunately, it seems that many students believe leadership is in the domain of the individual. We are led to believe this through literature and historical accounts of the stalwart individual leading the way through crisis. I believe, we must recognize that conducting ourselves with integrity is the key to understanding what it means to be a leader. Often times it seems too difficult to be a person with the ability for real leadership. Even though we may not be asked to lead companies or large groups of people, we must take on the responsibility of managing and leading ourselves. In my opinion, a person who is unwilling to take up this challenge is destined to be an empty shell of a person unable to contribute positively to his or her community. In order not to become this empty shell we must bring ourselves to the decision to become leaders of our own lives as soon as possible. It's never too late, I feel, to believe in the saying, "better late than never"
     True leadership often requires effort and sacrifice. Nevertheless, if we reconcile ourselves to our responsibilities and apply ourselves honestly to the work, we can become the leaders the world needs. If we are not able to believe in ourselves and take command of our own lives we will never be able to lead others.
     Real leadership demands not giving up, controlling ourselves, and endless self-development. I truly believe if a person can stay in command of his own life, that person will have the skills necessary to lead others if such a time ever comes. So we must learn to control ourselves, and not give up during tough times if we are to become real leaders. For instance, Kimoon Ban, Gunhee Lee, and Alvin Toffler, I think, are all leaders of their lives as well as their communities. We do not have to take on leadership roles on the scale that these people have, but we must take on the responsibility of leadership even if it is just for ourselves. Because I truly believe those are the people we need in order to create the community and country we want to live in. Thank you for your time.