Sixty two years ago, my Grandfather found himself in a whole with his life. He was living in Genova, Italy with about one hundred dollars to his name. He had just gotten married to my Grandma, and was still living in his mother’s house at the time. He had no job, which means no money was coming in. Getting a job at this time was nearly impossible. Knowing that he had so much more potential, at such a young age, he decided to pack up and leave everything with his wife to start a new life in America. My Grandfather and Grandmother spent days and days on a boat to get to the land of opportunities.
Once they arrived they got exactly what they were looking for. Opportunities. In order to support his new wife, my Grandfather worked all day everyday. He had four jobs, and made just enough to rent a small rinky-dink apartment in Brooklyn, New York. He lived this life for years, but with all his hard work, things did get better. Later, he moved out of the box he called his home, and moved into a large full sized house in Long Island, New York. He opened his own restaurant, and was very successful. He could finally buy and do all the things he longed to do for his whole life.
He knew that he had made it, and was so thankful he was no longer living the way he did in Genova. All he could think was that he hated that life so much, so why should all the family members he left behind have to live it? He arranged to send all this eight brothers and sister to Long Island New York. They lived with him until they found their footing, and they worked in his restaurant.
My Grandfather demonstrated so many qualities of a great leader in his lifetime. He was committed to leaving Italy and starting all over, he was confident that his plan would work since he left everyone ehind, and had no money, and he was positive through it all that it would work out. I am lucky enough to look up to him and call him my leader. My Grandfather is not the only great leader. George Washington was also a great leader in America. George Washington was a military, political, and moral leader without him the United States would not be what they are today.
Washington was the commander and chief of the of the continental army during the American Revolutionary war. He served two terms as the first U. S. president. During the American Revolution, he led the colonial forces to victory over the British and became a national hero. ” (George Washington). Overall, Washington led his troops on countless victories, and even some failures, but he never gave up and always led his troops and the people in the right direction. Washington cared for his troops no matter what. He knew that his troops were poorly trained, very hungry and did not have the proper equipment, but somehow Washington pulled them all together and gave them the motivation they needed to keep going.
Lastly, Washington was a fantastic political leader for America. He proved this in 1787. “He was asked to attend the Constitutional convention in Philadelphia and head the committee to draft the new constitution. ” (George Washington). He was one of the men to write the Constitution which we still follow today. George Washington is the definition of a great American leader. One last Leader who proved the impossible was a great athlete, Mark Messier. He is a canadian, former Ice Hockey professional who played hockey for twenty five years.
Mark Messier is considered one of the best players of the game, winning six Stanley Cups and being the captain for two of those. What makes him a great leader is that he led by example. He was the captain of the 1994 New York Rangers Stanley Cup. During that season in the playoffs he told the media that he would guarantee the New York Rangers a win that night, a night where they were facing elimination. In that game, Mark Messier scored a hat trick, which is three goals, and propelled his team to victory.
Mark Messier is a true leader by sticking to his word and encouraging the play of his teammates. It is no surprise that Mark Messier is the only NHL player to have captained two championship teams. Messier has been proven such a good leader that the NHL recently created an award after him, the Mark Messier Leadership Award which is awarded to a player that demonstrates positive example through on ice performance, motivation of team members, and a dedication to community and charity, all qualities that Messier possessed. As a sports fan and athlete I can agree, Mark Messier is a true leader.
Although these three people have nothing to do with each other, they all have so many similarities. My Grandfather, George Washington, and Mark Messier are all outstanding leaders. They all put others before themselves and looked at the greater picture in all cases. They all knew that for the life they wanted they would have to work with others and sometimes do things they did not want to do. In addition to this, all these people worked hard, and that is a major quality in being a great leader. Sitting back and relaxing, was not going to be enough.
They had to bust their butts to get where they are and be the people they wanted to be. If my grandfather did not work as hard as he did, he would still be living in a little shack, where the bathroom was actually in the kitchen. If George Washington did work like he did, this country wouldn’t be where it is today, and if Mark Messier did not work in practices and games, his skill would have needed got where it need to be. Lastly, these three people all led by example. They did and showed what had to be done, so their followers would want to be just like them.
There are so many other words that could be used to describe these people for example, inspiring, honest, confident, committed, and creative, but hardworking, leading by example and putting others in front of themselves, stood out to me as great ones, that each of these people highlighted traits of. My Grandfather, George Washington, and Mark Messier are great leaders. They are all people who know what they want and go after it. They would never let an opportunity pass them by. Many people aspire for these traits, and would be very lucky if they had them.