Welcome to the Deploy Yourself Newsletter. Every two weeks I share what impactful leadership looks like to show you how powerful you are. I also share the most insightful lessons and stories I encountered in the last two weeks. You can also read this issue online.
Hey,
I always thought I was shy, introverted, and only good for working with computers. Then 2011 happened when I organized an anti-corruption protest march in India. 400 people showed up that day – still one of my proudest moments. In the next year, I set up a not for profit organization with volunteer-driven teams in 5 Indian cities. I had no idea I was capable of producing the results that I produced. That led me on a journey to understand human behavior, potential, and leadership.
What I have found is that all of us operate at a level much below our true potential. We end up believing we are wired a certain way (by our family, peers, society) which limits our possibilities and actions. With the right support, you can often surprise yourself and those around you with what you can do.
You are more powerful than you realise. You are braver than you think. You can life of complete aliveness and joy. You can watch life from the stands, or you can get on the arena and play like a champion. And if you are in the arena, you have already won. What is it that is on hold in your life? What is that idea or project which has been waiting for you to show up? Maybe, now is the time for you to make that happen. Maybe, now is the time to see what you are capable of. Maybe, now is the time to take care of what you truly care about.
Reply to this email right now if it sparked something, or if you want to take the conversation ahead?
Articles and Stories Which Have Fascinated Me
One
How Labels Shape Our Reality and Limit Our Ability to Reason
Sometimes, we voluntarily label ourselves, and sometimes society labels us. When we do it, labeling can act as a compass to our values. When someone else does it, a label can be a lifelong prison sentence.
Labels can lead to tribalism, dogma, and mob mentality. When we crave connection, we join groups in order to feel a sense of belonging. But it becomes dangerous when that group limits what you can and cannot say to the point where you forfeit independent and rational thought.
We label people as fixed characters — ones incapable of change. So we label — sometimes entire swaths of people — as “addicts,” “racists,” “socialists,” and “criminals.”
Remember, every time you slap a label on someone and put them in a box, you filter what you see. You make your world smaller, simpler, and less reflective of reality. As novelist Toni Morrison once wrote, “The definitions belong to the definers, not the defined.“
From How Labels Shape Our Reality and Limit Our Ability to Reason
Two
An Offer To Join Me In A Year Long Leadership Journey
Starting next month, I am starting a one-year leadership program with the Institute of Generative Leadership to improve my leadership skills. I will directly apply what I learn in the program to set up my own leadership development and coaching company in Amsterdam this year. One thing to realize as a leader is that learning never stops, and it is never too late to approach learning with a beginner’s attitude.
If you want to take your leadership skills to the next level and see for yourself how powerful you can be, I invite you to join me in this year-long journey. You will be amazed by the kind of results you can produce given the right support and coaching.
If you are interested to see what you are capable of, just hit reply and we can have a conversation about how the program works.
That’s it for now. If you have any questions, just hit reply. All the best,
Sumit
(Twitter) @SumitGupta
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