Aspiring Leaders’ Forum in Wellington
The Aspiring Leaders' Forum is an annual four day event that brings together the brightest, most committed and courageous young leaders from across all sectors and towns in New Zealand. It was held in Wellington from 22 to 25 July this year. 6 Fo Guang Shan (New Zealand) Youths attended the forum.Below is the personal reflection from Andy Hsu after attended the forum:
What’s next? Andy Hsu – personal reflection
The four days in Wellington has been an inspirational experience for everyone who attended this forum. It was a journey to self realisation both personally and professionally. The various guest speakers from politicians, motivational speakers, to people who have taken that long hard journey to success, have given everyone something to take away with them from the power of spoken words.
There was also the opportunity to witness what happens inside the Chamber of the House of Representatives without filters like the media. Although you do not see perfect behaviour inside the House, we must note that following your passions and fighting for your dreams can bring out the best and the worst out of people. At the end of the day, politicians are just humans like us, with the same worries, stress and responsibility as ourselves, if not, more. But the one thing they should be admired for is their ability to keep what is personal and what is professional separate; when they debate, they are arguing over ideas and policies.
Everyone wants what is best for the country, but of course everyone would have different ways of approach and hence conflict and disagreement is born. Even when oppositions seem to disagree with each other majority of the time, it would never be on a personal level which is why strong friendship and acquaintances can still form between members of different parties. This was apparent when our group got together and had a personal face to face discussion with our two host Members of Parliament who were oppositions. The harmony between them was apparent despite the fact that they were divided in the world of politics.
There were at least five guest speakers invited to the forum; a range of topics were covered but a few main themes were consistent throughout.
One definition of success is the accomplishment of self set goals, and it will always require hard work. Guest speaker Nick Tuitasi said opportunities come wrapped in overalls. Overalls are cloth garments worn by labourers which in this case mean hard work, so in other words, opportunities come with hard work. The same can be applied to success; guest speaker Theresa Gattung, one of the top 50 most powerful women in the world said that real success comes from working hard at your passions. There will always be obstacles and hard work along the road to success, so she says “when the door shuts, find a window”. Never let anything stop you from doing or pursuing something that you have a passion for. This leads onto perseverance.
Dr. Rajen Prasad said that learning comes from failure; because only through failures do we learn what works and what does not work. Nick Tuitasi echoes this fact by noting perseverance is part of the key to success, never let failure and adversities knock you down for good. Guest speaker Warren White, one of the most inspirational speakers at the forum also said one of the most important thing when one encounters obstacles and failures, is to learn from it and move on, but most importantly, to let go; “there is nothing in the world that you can’t have if you work hard enough for it”.
The last guest speaker at the forum was Jock Cameron, who believed everyone has the power to change the world. His most important point was that changing the world comes from changing yourself first and the seven steps to change. Being aware of the change required; having the heart to change; making the decision to change; declaring the decision to change; practise being the change; have people who support you to change; and consistently trying to change. He also quoted Mahatma Gandhi; “be the change that you want to see in the world”, if one is unable to change themselves, then how can they change the world if they don’t even understand that change in the first place? Changing the world isn’t easy as well, it must be fuelled by passion and vision which echoes the famous quote by Joel Barker; “Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.” This quote in my opinion backs up everything that Theresa Gattung, Warren White, Nick Tuitasi and Jock Cameron spoke about during the forum.
Life is full of opportunities, some we seek, and for some we are given. Dr. Prasad mentioned that “people will put you onto a pedestal, but you must remember to get off”; there will be many times in life where one has the opportunity to shine on stage (the pedestal), for this reason we must remember to get off is so that we learn to be humble as well as to be the person who build that stage (or pedestal) for others. This also echoes the words of Ms. Gattung who said that once you’re in a position of great influence, you must start thinking about your successor, how you will provide a better environment for that person, to help them achieve something great. Being a leader does not necessary mean standing on stage and giving orders to people, but to be someone who can help people achieve something for the greater good is really what I think makes a good leader too. In other words, influence; you can influence the course of things either passively or actively.
Being a leader I believe, is someone who is competent in both. This also means to give, and give more as Mr. White has said which also made me think of the words my very wise Physics teacher left with me when I finished high school: “…set as your main goal the fact that it is not what you get out of life that really matters but what you are able to give and enable those around you to accomplish.”
The final thing that I have learnt, and believe is the most important thing out of this forum, and constantly needs reminding of is to have gratitude and to be thankful. The organisers of this forum have taken months of planning, and sleepless nights in the course of the forum to ensure all is running smoothly and that all delegates are getting the most out of the forum. Here, I wish to express my gratitude to the unseen and hardworking people behind the curtains. There is also the organisation, and the Abbess Manshin I would like to thank, for giving me this kind of rare opportunity to be here and learn things that hundreds and thousands of others may not have the chance to learn.
It is a privilege, and something that must not be left just as a memory. To fully appreciate and thank the people who have made everything happen, I believe is to implement what has been learnt in the forum and be the change that we wish to see in the world for the greater good.