Are your born with the ability to lead, or can it be taught? People frequently ask me that question, and I was thinking about it again last night after dinner with some people who simply live some of the best leadership skills I know. Before going to bed, I was reading from Parabola, a quarterly journal of tradition and myth.



This issue, in a side comment, a writer mentioned that one of Napoleon's wives could curl her ears, which was pretty much apropos of nothing in the article, but made me wonder how someone developed that skill. Were you born with special curling ear genes? Or is it hours of practice under the tutelage of master ear curlers?

The closest I could come to finding an answer was to search under ear wiggling. As it turns out, some people can pretty naturally learn the scalp muscles that control the illusion of wiggling your ears. But almost anyone can be trained if hooked up to electrodes in order to stimulate the muscles that control wiggling your ears. So almost anyone can be taught to wiggle their ears. As it turns out, the answer I usually give to people who ask about teaching leadership is that, yes, leadership can be taught. Some people are naturally gifted, and as a result of using that gift well, they excel beyond most. But I believe almost anyone can be taught how to be a better leader. For some of us, it may take the equivalent of electrode therapy. Eventually, however, we can get there.

If you want to learn how to wiggle your ears, here's one site I found. http://www.wonderquest.com/ears-wiggle.htm

You can also learn how to roll your eyes in opposite directions and all sorts of strange body maneuvers. I think I'll focus on honing my leadership skills for now ...