Great Leader of the World and How Their Vision Inspires

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 2

BIOGRAPHY 2

HEALTH PROBLEM 3

FOUNDATION 4

PHILOSOPHY-VISION-VALUES 5

E.I. COMPETENCIES 5

IMPACT 6

CONCLUSION 7

BIBLIOGRAPHY 7

INTRODUCTION

A leader is a person who inspires. He brings the best out of his people and they, in turn, follow him in the realization of his goals. In other words, a true leader communicates his aspirations and creates a shared passion for a common objective.

In order to be effective, a leader must first believe in his vision so as to be able to convey his thoughts to others and consequently convince them of the importance of his idea. As a result, such a leader can guide people with a firm hand and at the same time create resonance. Finally, empathy is probably the main emotional intelligence competency that a great leader must demonstrate and as the saying goes, "you can't judge someone until you have walked a mile in his shoes".

Lance Armstrong, the cyclist who overcame cancer and devoted his life in the foundation he created for cancer patients, is a very good modern example of a visionary leader. Since he survived this disease, his mission in life became to help others have a better chance when fighting with cancer. Still, he is always facing reality, both when he was a patient and now when he helps others fight cancer. Lance never tried to hide the truth either from himself or his fellow patients, but instead struggled to unite them and give them a common purpose; to fight.

"I'm really glad that our young people missed the Depression, and missed the great big war. But I do regret that they missed the leaders that I knew. Leaders who told us when things were tough, and that we would have to sacrifice, and these difficulties might last awhile. They didn't tell us things were hard for us because we were different, or isolated, or special interests. They brought us together and they gave us a sense of national purpose."

BIOGRAPHY

Born on September 18, 1971 in Plano Texas, Lance Armstrong began his athletic career by taking part at the age of 13 in athletic activities such as triathlon. When he turned 16, Lance focused on cycling, what would later become his passion and point of recognition to the world. Four years later Lance won the National Amateur Cycling Championship and in 1993 he won the Pro Cycling Tour's Triple Crown, a major cycling event in the States. At the Olympic Games of 1996, he suffered from fatigue and bronchitis disappointing his fans by finishing in the twelfth place. The weariness he felt and the illnesses he suffered were justified later that year when he was diagnosed with cancer. When the diagnosis was made, Lance was already at the third and final stage of testicular cancer, where cancer had already spread in his lungs and brain.

Five months after the diagnosis Lance began training again and in 1998 he returned to racing, sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service. During his two year absence, Lance created the Lance Armstrong Foundation. It was trough the foundation that Lance met his future wife, Kristin Richard with which he has tree children.

In 1999, just three years after his treatment for cancer, Lance won the Tour de France, leading the entire race and proving to the world his renewed capabilities. In 2001, Armstrong was given a clean bill of health which meant that during the five years that followed his treatment he was free of cancer.

For six consecutive years following his victory in 1999, Armstrong kept winning the Tour de France surprising everyone by stretching each time the limits of human potential. In 2005, after his seventh and final victory, he retired in Austin, Texas where he wrote the best-selling autobiography "It's Not About the Bike". Lance after his divorce with Kristin is currently dating rock star singer Sheryl Crow who he inspired to write the song Ð''Wildflower', which is also the name of the singer's new album.

HEALTH PROBLEM

Testicular cancer is a common type of cancer for males in the ages of 15 to 35 and it is almost always curable if you diagnose it early on. When Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with cancer he was already in the final stage where cancer had spread in his lungs and brain. Lance was feeling ill for a long time prior to his visit to the doctors but he only decided to so after the enormous pain that prohibited him from cycling. Because his condition was very serious the doctors gave him only 40% chance of recovery. Lance had two operations, one in order to remove the cancerous testicle, and another to remove the cancer from the back of his brain. Following the operations, Armstrong had to undergo chemotherapy which caused various difficulties including hair loss, lowered resistance to infections and nausea. Nevertheless, his treatment was successful, and five months later on he started cycling once more.

FOUNDATION

Lance Armstrong created the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) in 1997, just months after he was diagnosed with cancer. It is a registered non-profit organization located in Austin, Texas which aims to empower and inspire people with cancer. Lance, declares himself a survivor, not a victim, and takes an active role in educating himself and others about their disease.

The foundation's main roles are to educate and support cancer patients as well as research new methods to combat the disease. This can be clearly shown in the $9.6 million grants toward cancer research, the $1.7 million invested in the development of cancer survivorship centers and the LIVESTRONG campaign that helped raise $60 million funds for research.

LIVESTRONG (Wear Yellow) campaign started in the summer of 2004 with initial funding from Nike and was part of an effort to raise $5 million for cancer research. LAF along with Nike created a yellow silicone bracelet with the motto Ð''LIVESTRONG' imprinted on it and asked for a single dollar donation to help fund research and education for cancer survival. The reason why this campaign was a great success is because it offers something that expresses solidarity, costs very little and has created a new trend which was later followed and imitated by others. As of January 2006, over 62 million LIVESTRONG wristbands were sold exceeding

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