Legendary UCLA basketball coach, the late John Wooden, once said that leadership is influence derived from one’s character. Describe how as a leader, your life and character have motivated others to follow your lead by the example you set, not merely by the power of your position. (500 word limit)
Senyor, wake up! Your coca leaf tea is ready. Oscar, one of our porters was at the entrance of my tent at 4:30 a.m. I hadn’t slept at all. I was just waiting with restless anticipation. It was day 4 of my Classic Inca trail in Peru and I set out for the final push to Machu Picchu. In two hours, I was at the ‘Sungate’. Sweaty, tired and excited, I waited patiently for fog covers to lift up and then there it was, the lost city of Incas! The most unforgettable site I ever experienced.
Ever since I read Hiram Bingham’s 1948 best-seller Lost City of the Incas, chronicling his accidental discovery of Machu Picchu in 1911, I was inspired to visit Machu Picchu by hiking the Classic Inca trail. From my exuberating talk of the book and Machu Picchu. I piqued interest of other friends in Boston area and finally four of us decided to make the epic hike. To plan our training properly we started our small informal activity club called Hike and Bike. My other friends mostly mountain biked but my eyes were set on Hiking to Machu Picchu. We trained for over 4 months and did few hikes in New Hampshire’s White Mountains before setting out to grueling Classic Inca trail. It takes 26.2 miles over 4 days reaching heights of 14,000 at times witnessing Incan ruins along the way, passing through Andes mountain and dense ungle for some stretches was an experience that was life changing for me. Probably the days of being away from everything while being exposed to a different way of living opened my mind to other possibilities that they can have in life. I came home with a new confidence in who I was and what I could accomplish, not only physically, but at my work and personal life as well.
When I came back, I was so elated with the experience. I talked to everybody about it, to my family, to my friends, to my colleagues, to my neighbors, to my gym instructor. I showed them presentation of a photo story of my trip. I showed them the art crafts I brought with me from Peru. I shared all my memories. I shared my life lessons – when you accomplish a great goal your belief in who you are and what you are capable of shifts in almost direct proportion with the size of the goal. Little did I know that I was motivating several new members to join our Hike and Bike club. Soon, our small informal activity club grew from 4 to 28. We planned several Hikes. We scaled 13 key summits of the Presidential Range in White Mountains, New Hampshire. My work later brought me to SF bay area but my friends from hike and bike club back in in Boston went onto hike Mt, Kilimanjaro. I look back and take lot of pride in inspiring others into mountain climbing.
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