"When people talk about leadership, they often use the word passion. And when we think about passion we tend to think of emotions like enthusiasm, zeal, energy, exuberance, and intensity. Well, all these attributions might be true, but when you look up the word passion in any dictionary that includes origins you'll see that it comes from the Latin word for suffering. Passion is suffering! A passionate person is someone who suffers and a compassionate person is someone who suffers with, and shares the suffering of, others -- and wants to take action to alleviate this condition. Nearly every act of leadership requires suffering -- and often for the leader a choice between one's personal success and safety and the greater welfare of others. We're asking you to understand that nothing great comes without costs. Leadership is hard work. It's not easy despite what we, or others, may write in our attempts to make leadership more accessible. We'll all be remembered for something. The question is, for what? What will others say about you when you're no longer around."From "A Leader's Legacy"
By Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner
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