If you want to be a general…
You have to worry on their behalf, feel their pain and share their suffering, even in the comfort of your bed in the night you cannot sleep, you hire guards to watch over them in their sleep as if they are your own children, if you want to lead in any kind of way, these things you must be prepared to do them all. In fact what they give you is just a small payback of the much you have already done for them.
Stressed Captain.
The captains puts all the responsibilities of the team upon themselves, their requirements, their fears, their weaknesses, he carries them all upon his shoulders. A captain in charge of four teammates will have less worries compared to that one who is in charge of forty.
First before going out in a game, you have to make sure that everyone has their jerseys perfectly fit and ready for use, you’ve got to keep everybody calm, and make sure none has any minor injuries of any sort, then in the gameplay, you continually motivate them, without their captains psyche & appeal, the team might lose motivation and their strength, so you indeed become their strength. When the games begin, the captain once more becomes the center of attention, the Coach and fans are expecting more scores, more victories. They surely will make you become an element of hope for the entire crowd in the stadium.
One by one you must make sure each team member’s needs are taken care of, all those that were injured during the wrestling hour, you are the one who must bandage their wounds. The first to get off the bus on arrival and last to board on departure. You must put all members’ needs and interest at heart. All these you must do if you are hoping to see a successful squadron.
People are relieved of their worries & tensions when they notice somebody responsible is in charge, like passengers in a bus, the passengers enjoy the ride more than the driver, because they have placed all their worries upon the driver, they now sit back, relax, and watch things move by. The students of Upper Hill School were preparing to travel to a distant district, when they heard their driver was absent, they were very upset, the administration had offered some funny looking junior to drive them for the first ten kilometers of their journey, they were assured they would find him along the way, Soon before the bus was about to depart, the old man arrived, he was seen from afar, with his famous brown leather jacket, and a cowboy’s Hat, everyone was happy & felt relieved, he was soon rushed upstairs and pressed down onto the driver’s seat. The Old man however being not very social, the students loved him very much anyway. His tortoise driving style was excellent, he always made sure magnificent structures and natural formations didn’t pass them too quickly so that the kids won’t miss a glimpse of them.
Challenged Captain
Though being careful in your ways and cautious in your attempts, there are those who think themselves better than you are, out of the blue, they throw up a challenge, they gather themselves in a somewhat conventional meeting, they ask themselves, “why should we follow this stranger? What if he too is blind?”
They come with Hockey sticks and knock you on the knees to see if you will fall down, then watch carefully for any signs of weaknesses. They check how stable you are. A wrestling match is set up, one after another they come up to you with all their strength and try to throw you down, an excellent test for fitness, then when you have defeated all of them in a row, you earn their full respect, they finally become more submissive to your guidance.
During the hunting season, when you are on a camping expedition then you ask one of them to go get some food, they rudely reply back, the juniors say to you, “have you ever killed a hog before with a pen knife? There are dozens of wild hogs roaming outside now, they are all hungry and we have run out of ammunition, why don’t you go outside and do the job yourself?” They say to your face. When you ask them to do something, they want you to be an example.
Feted Captain,
“Why is it that you are loved by your people so much?” the Captain is asked, “what is it that you have given them that they have turned your name into a song?”
“You have to do much, and much more,” says the Captain. “You have to somehow help them out in a problem too big to handle on their own. You have to kill a Goliath for them. It is the fans of a game that really feel the true victory, we just help them achieve that, we are like puppets on the playing field, like toys a child plays with.”
They think being a captain is fun, the reverse side is pain, resilience, weariness, etc. if for instance you find yourselves cut away in a remote island and the entire team is facing the risk of severe starvation, then you might be forced to cut off one of your arms to throw at them.
Accepting the title of captain means you hold accountability for their actions, anything they do whether you are watching or not, you shall be held accountable for. They are your comrades, you are in charge of them, so any mission they undertake shall be presumed that it is you who sent them.
A comrade must never, never at all costs look down upon his captain, because if he does so, he is showing that they no longer regard him as their leader, and no longer has respect for him, in this case, he can be dismissed, free to join any other team around, someone else is searched quickly and put in his place, the fact that he has left means he is no longer part of them , but has become a fierce opponent, one that needs to be kept at bay at all costs. Remember that there can only be one master in a shaolin temple, if you would not listen to my instructions then I guess I better find another pair of students to give instructions to.
If they continue to question the integrity of your position and are planning to bring up more challenges, then let them know that there can only be one master in a shaolin temple, if anyone of them wants to be the master then they must defeat the existing one in a public match.
For the team to accept you as their leader, you have to be better than them in nearly everything, there is no room for weakness.
Before they can accept you as their captain you have to do a lot of impossible tasks for them, unless you are going to do something new that will take away some of their burdens, they will still remain suspicious of you.
They want something great, before they can accept you as their captain, you must be the best of them all, on numerous occasions those that think they are much better than you at leading will put you to the test, and many times they test you just to convince themselves that you really deserved the golden hat, they test your wisdom, strength and skill.
If you think of yourself as among the greatest, you should remember that there are those who will try very hard to prove otherwise, to show to others in essence that you are not the champion you may be claiming yourself to be, that you are an inexperienced captain with tons of weaknesses. The longest trailer goes to the most experienced driver, the most difficult tasks go to the most capable.
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