Okay, so the title is a little disingenuous. But we will be talking about both the power of luck and the power of the leadership role in the magical community. Just hang in there.
Because I’m a leader, though not quite
in the typical business-world sense, I subscribe to a number of
not-quite-typical leadership items, including a terrific blog, Leadership Freak
(by the inspirational Dan Rockwell).
I mention this because in the past
few months I’ve seen many of such blogs clearly apply not only to coven
leaders, but other kinds of leaders in the magical community like teachers,
parents, elders, authors, and even website and newsletter writers. It’s an odd validation of what we’re doing
that our troubles are so like those of other organization builders. And it’s an even greater one that so many of
these traditional individuals are willing to share their knowledge with us
across the vast expanse of our two mindsets.
What follows is my take on one of
the most eye-catching of these informative tidbits. It invokes the blessed name of Good Fortune,
which as most witches will agree, is a major part of what we’re all striving to
achieve on a daily basis. Good fortune
is that kind of constant luck that needs no tending, but simply is a part of
who we are. Fortune carries us through difficult
decisions and hard times to come out the other side a great deal wiser and with
as little dusting as possible. In my
professional spellcasting business, besides love and revenge (because I’m an
equal-opportunity spellcaster), good fortune is the request on every client’s
lips. How happy I was to find the
following list describing mundane ways we can build this effect all across our
lives, even when we forget our best amulets!
Note: The list belongs to Mr.
Rockwell, but I have noted after each how they can be applied to our community
specifically. To see the original and a
whole lot more, check out:
The Sweet 16 of creating good
fortune:
- Stay open. The thing you seek may not be the thing you find.
It’s easy
to get a picture in our heads about exactly how an event/group/meeting/etc.
should—nay, WILL!—turn out. After all,
that’s what we do with much of our magical time, visualize. But, as in spellcasting, with so many
variables (read: other wild people with their own wild wills), we need to stay
flexible. Have a basic goal and stick to
that. If other things crop up (such as major
location change for your event or a typically closed ritual featuring tag-along
guests), start with damage control and then just roll with the rest. So long as the basic goal stays intact, you’ve
succeeded.
- Keep asking questions.
I’m a question-asker
by nature, but I’ve also seen how important it can be even if I wasn’t
predisposed to it. When we ask
questions, we do more than find out what others know. We show interest, raise others’ self-esteem, solve
problems without blame, and open the way for creative thought. Before taking on any kind of leadership position,
ask a ton of questions:
What’s the
group/organization about?
What would
I be doing specifically?
Who would
work with me?
How long
do I have to prepare?
How often
would I be called upon to perform my functions?
Who would
I be speaking/writing, etc. for and to?
Are there
costs or travel involved?
Would I
work with other groups/organizations/other leaders? In what capacity?
It’s these
kind of questions that help you understand if you actually want to deal with
all the different aspects of this proposed position. But they also clarify the job and give the
person you’re asking the chance to point out the good qualities and brainstorm
how to circumnavigate the bad ones. Only
once you have as much information as possible can you make a truly wise
decision, and not just one based upon ego or emotion.
- Look for favorable circumstances. People see what they look for.
When there’s
a disorderly event, find a way to bring people together. When everyone is arguing, seek something on which
they can all agree. There is a way through
any forest, but you have to train your eyes to find paths. A calm head keeps us looking for solutions,
not problems.
- Set direction and goals; they help you understand favorable winds.
Every step
of the way, you should be working towards a goal. To keep the ship analogy, don’t ever sail
without a heading. Once you’ve achieved
a goal, celebrate it, and then set a new one.
Being tossed around by circumstances can only happen when you don’t know
where you’re going. Give your group or
coven a definite purpose beyond the pleasure of group rituals; set a
destination for your writing and art; know what you want to be when you grow
up! How many ways can you impact your
community—now go make a map to do them!
- Adapt to favorable opportunities that aren’t perfect.
I’ve often
said that when I’m trying to accomplish something, my first choice never works
as well as my second. You may not have
all the money or know-how, you might be short on supplies or help from others,
but you can do great things with a little creativity. Stay focused on the rare opportunity you’ve
been given to do something important. Don’t
give up on the imperfect—it just needs a little molding.
- Keep moving forward even if direction changes.
Again,
giving up is never a smart leader’s option.
Just like you can’t give up on your kids no matter what, you can’t give
up on those you lead in the magical community.
Situations are never static, and we need to work around issues as they arise. But don’t let your need for a strong defense
keep you from trying to score points!
Move on always!
- Prepare for adversity.
Delays,
arguments, loss, enemies…they’re out there and they will happen eventually. You need to know what you’ll do when they
find you. How do you plan to handle
these threats to your goal?
- Embrace turbulence; it opens hearts and minds.
My father
always says, “Hard times make good people.”
When things are imperfect, people need to band together and bring out
their very best. You’ve got to be okay
with circumstances that force you to
be as good as you can be.
- Let go of failure.
I like
watching Yahoo’s “Failure Club” now and again because the message is that no
matter what the goal, we’re all driven onward by some hungry, mysterious force
and also that we’re all scared out of our wits. But don’t focus on the fear. It’s going to be there no matter what. What’s even scarier is the thought that
someday, when it’s too late, we’ll be sitting alone saying “I didn’t even have
the guts to try.”
- Talk opportunities. Talking problems elevates and validates them. The more you talk about problems the more problems you see.
Here’s
some magical thinking if ever I saw it!
Focus on the bad, and bad is all around.
Especially since we’re in an entire community of magic-workers, we need
to see problems as a new chance to hone our skills and stir up something
unexpectedly wonderful.
- Learn from mistakes.
Two quotes
come to mind:
1) “If you always do what you’ve always done,
you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”
2) “A
smart man learns from his mistakes but a wise man learns from the mistakes of
others.”
So here’s
two sides to the coin. Repeating
inadequate actions gets you nowhere, but also that other people can easily
model what we don’t want just as
easily as what we do. Before making a
big change, check around with others and listen to their stories. Plan your best for avoiding their stumbles.
- Push through resistance.
Nothing
worthwhile is ever easy. That is all.
- Disregard convenient activities; do what is right.
There’s
usually a huge gulf between what is nice to do (or polite, socially acceptable,
safe…) and what is right. Should your
group endorse something horrible in order to win more popularity? Should your organization to host a coffee klatch
or a conference?
Where are
you needed? Be there with no regrets.
- Build a network of friends.
This one
should be pretty easy for us witches, since we spend so much of our time in
communication. Each of the people you
know has his/her own skills and specialties; they each have their own extended
circles that don’t coincide with yours at the moment; they’ve undergone their
own trials and come out with their own successes. That’s the networking part—we’re each useful
to each other in different ways. But the
friends part is the most
important. People who understand you and
your undertaking, who seek your success as much as (if not more than) you do,
can do you the greatest favor in any undertaking—they can make it all
worthwhile.
- Ask for advice, a lot. Seek out experts and others who share your experiences and vision.
Covered a
bit in different sections here, seeking out people who’ve been there will help
a lot when you’re not certain what the future will look like. Listen well, write things down, be
gracious.
- Express gratitude.
Probably
the most important part is to show your appreciation. You had the vision but there were a whole lot
of other people who went into your success.
Thank them along the way and once you arrive. Thank the Gods and guides. Thank the Earth, thank your ancestors, thank
everybody. I thank you.
Bonus: Do your best where you are.
I believe
that we should always live below our means and above our station. You can
do great things right now, even without the best of everything around you. You can
embody greatness right now and impact the lives of those you have yet to meet. If you can see it and go boldly into it, you
will have all the good fortune you need and more.
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