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There are very few true leaders in this world. Most people are followers. They follow the current fashion, they follow the current trend, be it vampires, zombies, or wizards. I am not saying that people are brainless and can't think for themselves. I am saying that very often, they don't.

It takes a strong independent person to walk away from the herd and strike out on their own path. Lots of people play it safe by following everyone else. But lots of people don't know who they are following. So who are you really imitating?

We did a fun scavenger hunt once in a shopping mall. One of the instructions on the list was to point up at the ceiling and say wow look at that! There was of course nothing up there. But it got everyone else around us to look up too, wondering what we were seeing that they couldn't.

That is natural, to look when someone points. But how about following a crowd of people who are clearly going in the wrong direction, as is evident from the big signs pointing the other way. But who wants to be the one to say 'hey guys, we are going the wrong way!'. So you just keep quiet and follow everyone else, until everyone realizes they are lost.

I try my best to never get involved in politics. It is one thing I don't discuss with most people, for obvious reasons. Now I know that there are a lot of smart people in this world, but unfortunately it doesn't always shine through.

You hear people spouting off opinions that are completely skewed, whether they heard it from their parents, their friends, or made it up themselves. It bothers me when people just repeat what they have heard other people say, without bothering to get their facts straight. If you don't know what you are talking about, it is better to keep quiet than risk sounding like an idiot.

You may do it more often than you are aware of. Think about how many times you simply follow the crowd, because it is easier than figuring things out for yourself. Taking the easy route.

As Robert Frost says, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."

And my own quote: "Don't follow the crowd. They are usually all idiots".