Who are leaders? What do they look like? What they do? Leaders are those special people who actively stand up for what they believe in. They are not easily deterred when things seem to go wrong; instead they recollect, rethink, and try again. They promote their cause by educating and inspiring others to take part in something greater than themselves that will benefit the world in some way or another. As far as looks go, leaders come in all shapes and sizes. There is no one mold, no set type of look that would classify someone as being a leader. Gandhi, Napoleon, Bill Clinton, MLK, Harriet Tubman, Pharaoh Hatshepsut were all leaders who came from all kinds of walks of life, looked nothing alike, but still accomplished great things. As with these examples, we see that being a leader is not always easy. It can be very risky and tiring and frustrating trying to do what one feels is right and sticking to that no matter what comes along. Leaders have to be tough, resilient. They have to set aside pride and their own selfish ambitions in order to produce the most good.
The idea of a leader brings to mind two modern day women who are quite opposite. Their names are Laura Murphy and Laura Quigley. Laura Murphy is an English professor who is a big time advocate for stopping human trafficking of all types. She is a modern abolitionist. Her personality is fiery! She is a very energetic soul whose passion is clearly seen in all that she does. She is amazing and shares her passion with those around her and beyond. Dr. Murphy does keep quiet her goals about ending slavery, but instead educates the public. She actively informs the public that there is a problem of slavery in the world, a huge one, and inspires others to join with her in the fight to free the slaves in bondage. Dr. Murphy travels the world, spreading awareness and teams up with organizations like Free the Slaves to further her cause. Laura Murphy is dynamite. Persistent. Passionate. A leader.
On the other hand, there are those leaders like Laura Quigley, who have a calmer nature. She is every bit as passionate and progressive as Laura Murphy, but her style of personality differs. Laura Quigley leads with her gentle spirit. People gravitate towards her and the fact that she truly cares about individuals is evident in her daily lifestyle. Laura Quigley passionately serves others through her work in Mission and Ministry. She leads people to do the same and inspires those around her to establish a deeper relationship with God, themselves, and others. She is a people builder. Raising up those who struggle, to become strong, self-assured, motivated is only a small part of what Laura Quigley does. She is definitely someone you should know. Laura’s traits: calm, compassionate, rejuvenating. A leader.
