SOAR WITH THE EAGLE – PATH TO LIFE SUCCESS

The majestic Eagle! The eagle soars through the skies with power, grace and beauty. The eagle symbolizes courage, strength, spirit, wisdom, freedom, meditation, perspective, vision, insight, balance and connection with a higher power.

… but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint.    ISAIAH 40:31

The eagle epitomizes or embodies the spirit and essential characteristics of Leadership and Entrepreneurship. In general, the eagle enjoys the reputation as the “King of  Birds”, while the North American Bald Eagle, the national symbol of the United States government, has been a powerful symbol of the country’s role as leader of the free world.

The bald eagle was chosen as the emblem of the United States of America on June 20, 1782 because of this great strength, courage, long life and majestic look. The eagle is a symbol of freedom, living on the tops of lofty mountains(peaks) and sweeping into the valleys below amid the solitary grandeur of nature.

In his book, ‘Peaks and Valleys’, Spencer Johnson, M.D. defines Peaks and Valleys in life. He states; Peaks are moments when you appreciate what you have…Valleys are moments when you long for what is missing. In ‘Authentic Leadership’, Bill George states,”Although we may be born with leadership potential, all of us have to develop ourselves to become good leaders.” It would seem that a leadership development process must take place to grow,cultivate and develop leadership ability. Just like the eagle who acquires great strength, courage, spirit and wisdom while majestically sweeping to lofty peaks and valleys, we too must develop into leaders who possess the characteristics of the eagle! Kouzes and Posner in The Leadership Challenge said, “What we have discovered and rediscovered, is that leadership is not the private reserve of a few charismatic men and women. It is a process ordinary people use when they are bringing forth the best from themselves and others. What we’ve discovered is that people make extraordinary things happen by liberating the leader within everyone.”

In their book, ‘Launching A Leadership Revolution’, Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward identify ‘The Cycle of Achievement’ and the components of this cycle. The Cycle of Achievement includes:

1. Vision
2. Goal Setting
3. Game Planning
4. Working
5. Seeking Counsel

When one reflects and focuses on the above characteristics of the eagle we gain much insight into ‘The Cycle of Achievement’  and the qualities and characteristics which allow a leader to soar with the eagle. The eagle has razor sharp vision, can see great distances and can look directly into the sun without being blinded. A leader must not be blinded and it is of paramount importance to have a very clear vision of tomorrow’s reality. Kouses and Posner said, “Leaders inspire a shared vision. They gaze across the horizon of time, imagining the attractive opportunities that are in store when they and their constituents arrive at a distant destination. Leaders have a desire to make something happen, to change the way things are, to create something that no one else has ever created before. In some ways leaders live their lives backwards. They see pictures in their mind’s eye of what the results will look like even before they’ve started their project, much as an architect draws a blueprint or an engineer builds a model.” The spirit of the eagle personified!

The spirit of the eagle is a symbol to many cultures. Eagles are represented in numerous artifacts and legends of Native Americans. Some tribes considered it to be the Great Spirit itself and the bird whose feathers were given as great prizes was sometimes referred to as the Thunderbird because of its propensity to spread its wings and fly directly into the powerful updrafts as storms approach. Just like the eagle, a Leader must spread their wings and fly straight into the storm and meet the challenge to grow, develop and to augment the growth and development of his/her team.

To the Chinese culture the eagle is a symbol of strength. An eagle shown perched in a pine tree is a respected gift to an older man. This gift wishing him the strength of an eagle and longevity of a pine-tree. In Greek culture the eagle is often seen as Zeus’s carrier of thunder and was thought to be the only bird living on Mt. Olympus. It is depicted as a symbol of leadership. References to Eagles is made in great numbers in Christian literature. During the Exodus, God bore Israel safely away from the Egyptians upon eagle’s wings (Exodus 19:4). The early Judean  church was granted the “wings of a great eagle” to flee from the siege in Jerusalem in 70 A.D.: Saul and Jonathan were “swifter than eagles” (2 Samuel 1:23).

Empower the  grace, beauty, courage, passion, wisdom, freedom, power and strength of the majestic eagle on your Leadership and Entrepreneurship Journey!

SOAR WITH THE EAGLE

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Tags: American Bald Eagle, Financial Freedom, Hughie Bagnell, Leadership, Path To Life Success, Soar With The Eagle, Spencer Johnson