The time of year is once again upon us when leaders from all sectors and nations around the globe descend upon New York City. Along with street closings and traffic jams, they come together to make important speeches, hold panel discussions and attend fancy galas.

Between the UN General Assembly, the Clinton Global Initiative,two major women’s conferences and other events, all of these big wigs and accomplished folks will be setting out to solve the world’s problems with a whirlwind of high level networking and pow-wows throughout the week.  Boy, do they have their hands full!

This month Vanity Fair features its list of the 2011 New Establishment, as well as the old and some hall of famers to boot, many of who will surely be in town. Most of them are from technology and media, which shows you where all the power currently lies, not to mention the vast majority are men – but these are topics for another post….

So how did these people in government, corporations, NGOs, technology, media, and more become the leaders they are today?  My guess is that they took hold of their passion and calling in life and harnessed it in a way that took them wherever it needed to go.

Not all the journeys were the same; I’m sure some worked very hard for a long time with their eyes on the prize, others became leaders by accident due to some circumstance that thrust them into the spotlight, and many were  born at the right place at the right time and seized the opportunity to make their mark on the world; all had to have lots of help along the way. And regardless of how they arrived, at some point they had to own the fact that they did.

But keep in mind that they are no different from you and I. We are all made up of the same biological substance, and at the end of the day, as the saying goes, they put their pants on one leg at time, which means any one of us has the opportunity to be a leader in some way, shape or form – in fact, we can and must be the leaders in our own lives if we are to have any hope or effectiveness at leading others, either directly or by example.

Tomorrow happens to be the International Day of Peace and as I mentioned in last week’s post, “we are all responsible for peace in our piece of the pie.” So why not ask yourself:  Am I leading the life I want to live?  If you were in the running for a little gold statuette, would you be in the leading lady or man category in your own best drama or comedy, in a supporting role or an extra left on the cutting room floor?

Whether a paparazzi deprived/ambushed star or not, someone has to lead in the dance of your life, and the only person to do that is you. 

Feeling like you’re spinning in circles or vetoed at every turn these days? Give me a buzz and I’ll help you get out there with the focus and direction you need to express your true power and potential, putting you at the top of the leaderboard on your own world stage!