Writings: Take a chance & become the first follower…

You’ll remember a few months ago,  I shared with you the story of the shirtless dancer, the lone nut, who gains a first follower, who turns them into a leader (here’s the posting, with Derek Sivers.)

It’s true…every leader needs a first follower. Without him or her, the movement gets stuck, immobile, paralyzed.

I got a chance to  put this in action. Here’s what happened:

I was hanging around the food court last month at SeaTac airport, waiting for a couple of hours on my way to see my parents in Tennessee in the States. There was a young woman who was singing in the food court, with perhaps a hundred people listening. She was quite good, and her voice & guitar playing were awesome, filling that great space…glad she was there!

But at the end of the first two songs I heard, no one clapped. After all, this wasn’t a tav or a bar or a stage show…what do you do? No one clapped.

So I did. After her third song, I clapped (I was in the “back”), and then someone else did, then three people, then most of the whole place. It was awesome.

We kept that up till her set was done. She was beaming. And we were, too.

All because one guy clapped.

I hope you get the chance to be a first follower this week. You’ll like how it feels.

Blessings, dear hearts –

Brother Ian