Editor’s note: This opinion piece is by special contributor Sheriff Osni, a graduate student at Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Lead.er.ship Mind.ful.ness and other words are purposely written in etymological style, as well as SELF and other words written with all capital letters to ameliorate, bring focus and attention to a word’s meaning.

Lead.er.ship begins with leading the SELF before leading others, and Mind.ful.ness is the awareness of the SELF before minding others.

“The most difficult thing in life is to know yourself.” ~ Thales

No one ought to know who you are more than you ought to know yourself, and yet…do you truly know who you are? Who are you? What defines you? What are your action-based values, principles, beliefs, and ethics, and how do you define them in the way you practice everyday life, work, and study? What do you preach? How often and how well do you practice what you preach? What do you stand for? When was the last time you stood for it? Do you contribute more than you take? Do you give more than you receive? Are you grateful for what you have, and appreciative of what you have? When was the last time you gave a lending hand? How often do you say a sincere “thank you”? How often and when was the last time you did a random act of kindness? Do you treat people better than you are treated? How often and how fast do you acknowledge other people’s contributions? How often do you monitor your principles and calibrate for congruency? Are you mind.ful of your SELF and every-thing or are you living unconsciously on an involuntary, automated, programmed, mindless “rinse and repeat” cycle of activities?

“All your life you pretend to be someone else, and it turns out that you were someone else pretending to be you.” ~ Robert Brault

Will you choose your answer on honest preparation, reflection, examination, evaluation, and comparison of your values and actions? Will you tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, articulating words of certainty, conviction, and confidence? Will your answer be, not the best, but the true representation of your SELF; not what you think you are, or what you hope or wish you were? Or will you choose to ad-lib your answer, and wing-it using impulsive words?

“You will never have more time than you do right now.” ~ Dan Azra

Start this very NOW (of Eckhart Tolle) for there is no better NOW than this NOW known as the PRESENT, the gift you are given every second. What are doing with it?

“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” ~ Pablo Picasso

People make time for what’s important and for what matters to them, so you should make time for your SELF. Also, you cannot give what you don’t know you’ve got.

“Know thyself.” ~ Socrates

I believe that the more I develop my SELF, the more I can become even more helpful and more useful to be of service to more people. I am defined by INTEGRITY, for it is always doing the right thing, especially when no one is watching – for I am always watching… my SELF.

So, Lions let’s have a dialogue and tell me who you are by leaving a comment below.

This column is over but this journey has just begun, for Lead.er.ship Mind.ful.ness begins with SELF realization.

Lis.ten to Alan Watts, “How do we define ourselves?” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXRPjdXGjjg.