Day 44: Gevurah in Malchut, Strength in Leadership
"Speak softly and carry a big stick." This West African proverb was often quoted by President Teddy Roosevelt. At the 1901 Minnesota State Fair, Roosevelt (who would become president 2 weeks later), said:
"'Speak softly and carry a big stick—you will go far.' If a man continually blusters, if he lacks civility, a big stick will not save him from trouble; and neither will speaking softly avail, if back of the softness there does not lie strength, power. In private life there are few things more obnoxious than the man who is always loudly boasting; and if the boaster is not prepared to back up his words his position becomes absolutely contemptible. So it is with the nation. It is both foolish and undignified to indulge in undue self-glorification, and above all, in loose-tongued denunciation of other peoples."
If we must begin the week of leadership with kindness, we must follow it up with strength.
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