I am going to the Leading the Charge conference this Thursday. It is being put on by DDPN. I find leadership so very hard. The first step is to lead me. I must rally all my thoughts and feelings together to achieve a single goal. I find this difficult. There are so many dissenting voices inside my head. I really must think things through to have mental clarity. Once I am ready to go I need to lead others. I must decide who I will lead and where do I want to lead them to. The real challenging part is communication, getting others excited about joining up with my vision. Motivation is crucial. People easily become discouraged at the first obstacle. I must motivate them to go the distance, and it’s never about me but the group. So when I think of Self-Advocacy, I focus my mind on the destination, network with my comrade self-advocates, explain to them my vision, get them pumped up, and then act. This may sound simple, but it takes a lot of work.