Ibigin mo ang iyong Bayan nang sunod kay Bathala, sa iyong kapurihan, at higit sa lahat sa iyong sarili. (Love your Country next to God, your honour, and most of all yourself.)

Andres Bonifacio

The father of the first Philippine revolution, Andres Bonifacio, is one of the greatest Philippine national heroes. As an orphaned young man in Tondo, Manila he was inspired by the writings of Jose Rizal and Victor Hugo. His favorite of the latter was the novel Les Miserables of which the crux was the French Revolution. He was deemed to be the first Philippine President being the founder or the Supreme Leader of KKK (Kataas-taasang Kagalang-galangang Katipunan), the first Philippine organization, with members sprawling across the island of Luzon. KKK then stood as the first government of the Filipinos, aimed to oppose the brutal Spanish rule.

Andres Bonifacio Photo
Only surviving photograph of Andres Bonifacio, founder of the Philippine revolutionary society Katipunan. (Photo by: Kasaysayan-kkk.info)

Andres Bonifacio convinced the members for an election to finally establish the needed structure of governance. Sadly, he was denied of any position because he wasn’t a lawyer or didn’t earn any degree. He was compared with Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo who became their elected President. Affected by this insult, he asserted his power being the founder of the group to cancel the election. However, the people worked behind him and proceeded with the election. Soon after, President Aguinaldo and his board consequently found  him to be difficult and ordered for his capture being a traitor.

Andres Bonifacio just completed 6th grade because he was compelled to work for his siblings, when both of his parents died. I am a strong believer of achieving high education or earning a degree being a vital primordial step into a successful career in the future. However, I couldn’t deny the fact that experience could supersede education. Some of us do have careers quite far from our degree but we can say that we are doing pretty much okay. Education can only go so far and if not followed through with practical application all the years and money will go down the drain. The most auspicious ingredient of success, in any endeavor, is love for the work or great belief in the cause. This love will fuel your determination to overcome all adversities and will energize you to run around like an excited dog to muster everything you need to succeed. Love, like said in that battery commercial, will get you going and going.

To become a successful leader, one need not to earn a master or doctorate degree. If you have the money  and the time then get yourself one, go for it! Theory can always galvanize great insights which could help you lead your people well. Just make sure, you put your investments and years to good use because not everyone is as privileged as you are. However, the most important and pragmatic way is first to look inside you, introspect and know what your ultimate reason is in deciding to lead people. If it is for pride and money then I think you can just go ahead achieve as many doctorate degrees as you can and get a consultancy job that won’t hold you down the long term accountability (I know not all consulting firms are like what I just described and for as long as you go around the entire training cycle and beyond then you are doing great!). It has to be about a life-long impact or about a greater cause, because leadership is about leading  great lives who will eventually lead another set of great people in the future and to endure the great sacrifices that this career brings, one must be in love. Education does not mean spending time in a refutable institution and leave with a diploma but education is about learning in any way (self-study is one: if you like Psychology then research about it, read as much, apply insights and share!!!) and putting every key learning into great use and can put great cause into fruition.

Attributes: Committed, Confident, Great Communicator, Passionate

Reference:
Asianhistory.about.com