What do you do when nobody has authority to tell you what you can or can’t do?
A lot of people would say that they would spend more time with their families, work on their passion projects or take a long holiday. I would argue that the vast majority wouldn’t. They would be terrified.
We defer to authority, we are taught to live our lives asking for their say-so. When they are gone, we wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves, and we would look to each other for a leader.
We love to be lead, and most people who are in charge don’t know how to lead, and don’t want to lead. That’s why so many people hate their bosses – their boss is just an authority, but they aren’t a leader.
But guess what? Nobody has authority over you if you don’t give it to them first.
Waiting for someone to give you the go ahead is the first step to being a moderate. The change-makers and the linchpins don’t wait for permission from authority, they just do it in the face of all the people telling them “You’re not good enough” and asking “Who gave you permission to do that?”
The internet is truly the most incredible invention of mankind to date. It allows me, in front of my 13″ laptop, to have the same power as a multinational fortune 500 company.
Only if we use it though.
We can only find power in a crowded marketplace if we are willing to try something that might not work. To be vulnerable and put our work out there and accept the criticism that people will send back. If nobody is criticising you, you’re not doing anything remarkable.
So when your boss takes a sick day, what do you do? Do you defer to the next highest authority? Do you half-ass your work that day and just relax because ‘nobody is checking’?