Lead Without Followers

posted 26th September 2011    Written by: Molly Mahar    CATEGORY: Guest Post Rockstar, Life Lesson, Molly

Warning: There is a boy on the blog.  Not just any boy, however… One of my favorite thinkers, down-to-earth philosophers, and upcoming co-teacher for our 2012 Reclaim Leadership Course.

Ladies, I’d like to introduce you to Dave Ursillo.

I met him while jumping out of an airplane in Portland in June and we quickly became fast friends.  I’d been reading his blog for months before that and we’d had a few Skype conversations about being young online entrepreneurs, but to get the chance to hang out and talk about our ideas on the leadership revolution was amazing.

So what’s he doing on Stratejoy?  Well, Dave is a brilliant writer and his book, Lead Without Followers, launches today.  And I feel compelled to make sure I’m doing my part in getting the word out because I believe so strongly in his message (And FYI: I’m not an affiliate and yes, I did buy my own copy!).

Dave was kind enough to take part in a goofy little interview with me (I’m sure most people who interviewed him for this launch were quoting his book and asking deep questions, but I’m always curious in the behind-the-scenes stuff as well…). Enjoy!

MM: Book in 20 words.  And how can we get a copy?

DU: Radically redefining what it means to be a leader based upon what we have within us, already, and right now. You can head over to DaveUrsillo.com, or easily visit the Lead Without Followers page there.

MM: Beverage, music, location of choice while writing.  Be specific!
DU: When I started writing my book, it was: large iced banana hazelnut coffee from favorite South Boston cafe, Explosions in the Sky on iTunes and sun pouring in through shimmering tree leaves outside our apartment kitchen window.  Now that it’s done? I want that to become: Home-brewed chocolate macadamia nut Kauai coffee, Red Hot Chili Peppers bumpin’ on the speakers, on a private beachfront property in Hawaii (alright, maybe just a vacation house?).
MM: How do you think leading without followers specifically applies to 20somethings?

DU: We were born into a world that told us the sky was the limit. As 20somethings, that culture is a part of our core. We dream. We yearn to fly- to soar. Lead Without Followers fuels that fire not with hyperbole, but with concrete evidence and strategies that remind us that…

Leadership comes from within, and not what we are “without.”

 

 

MM: I know you’d been dreaming about writing this book for a long time.  Why now?  How did you move yourself into action?

DU: You helped, Molly.  The more I discussed these ideas, the more it resonated so powerfully within me. Sometimes when I talk about Lead Without Followers I literally begin to shake- almost like my nerves are going haywire. It’s what I describe as a source of purpose, meaning, and passion literally resonating so strongly within me that it is making itself physically felt.

I moved myself into action by just starting. Somewhere. Anywhere. Wherever I was. The decision to commit is an important first step. Then you tell family, friends, the world, and they all help you to remain accountable to that decision.

MM: Biggest Oh Shit Moment?  Biggest OMG-this is amazing Moment?

DU: My biggest Oh Shit moment was the entire month of August. Every time I looked at the calendar, the clock, or my to-do list, I spun off into a poetic soliloquy of curses (It’s a family trait). I put myself “under the gun” to meet my deadlines, which I’m usually opposed to, but this book needed to be pressed to print. It’s been 3 years, after all.

My biggest OMG moment was one of my interviews this past week with my friend Lisa Robbin Young, a biz blogger who is brilliant and amazing. In her interview (she will make you feel like you’re getting interviewed on Meet the Press), she read an excerpt from the book, which I realized was the first time I had ever heard someone read something that I had written. It was a surreal experience. Luckily, it also sounded semi-smart.

MM: The book, person, and website that inspires you.

DU: As a writer: Anything by Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Danielle LaPorte’s White Hot Truth
As a 20something: The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World, the Dalai Lama, TinyBuddha
As a regular guy: Tao te Ching, my little cousins, Steve Kamb’s NerdFitness

MM: I heard you’re launching a course with a really brilliant chick called Reclaim Leadership.  What can you tell us about that?

DU: Oh, you mean our paradigm-shifting, world-changing, status-quo-inverting leadership course? Reclaim leadership will teach you a personalized plan for maximizing your inner skills, talents and abilities to become a highly influential leader in your life. Molly and I lay out a step-by-step process through which you gain the tools and tips into naturally becoming “a powerhouse for good,” a radiant and magnetic conduit of the things that you want and need.   (MM note:  Hell yah!  Please ignore our totally out of date splash page, but sign up here if you want to know more about the launch in 2012!)

MM: Why do you love Stratejoy girls? And are you single?

Single? Yes. ;)   When I think Stratejoy girls, I think… Raw confidence. Unabashed openness. Determination. Self-reliance. Purely loving. That’s hot.

MM: What’s the biggest takeaway you want readers of your book to leave with?

A new and empowered perspective on leading in your everyday life, and the incredible impact that you already do have upon the lives of everyone around you.

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Comments (1)

One Response to “Lead Without Followers”

  • Lisa Robbin Young Says:
    September 29th, 2011 at 9:15 pm

    Molly, I don't have to tell you how awesome Dave is. His thinking, his critical analysis and his poignant assessment of not only what's missing from leadership today, but also how we can solve the problem for this and future generations is SUCH a wonderful breath of fresh air from "today's whippersnappers" as I like to call him.

    It was a great pleasure to be able to "talk shop" with Dave and let my audience see what brilliance hides behind his youthful, yet thoughtful, compassionate presence. I have no doubt that if Dave ran for office, he'd win in a landslide.

    Dave, thanks for the nod. Coming from an elocutionist like yourself, it's high praise, indeed. :-)

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