One of my beliefs is: "Life is like a jungle, only the strongest survive*." The asterisk is: no one survives life as death is a certainty for all of us. Also, no matter how strong you are, there might be someone stronger, so strength is relative. However, observing the law of nature, the strong ones live longer, the weak ones die sooner or get eaten sooner by the stronger. Our 'civilized world' is ruled by the same things that have ruled humanity and the animal kingdom since the history of our times: 1. Power (influence/ control) and 2. Resources (money/ wealth).
The recent event - Russia (AKA Putin) invading Ukraine - is a perfect example of this. The world order has been created based on the principles of strength and power (business/ economic power is an essential aspect of that). With great strength comes a large amount of power and responsibility that brings resources (military), control, dominance, influence, etc. We also know that hierarchies are prone to corruption. The higher up the hierarchy one sits, the more disconnected from reality one gets (this is my personal experience and observation of several leaders). Leaders, such as Putin, live in an alternate reality, surrounded only by a close group of people they trust and who say yes to all ideas, and that's the beginning of how poor decisions get made. And don't get me wrong, Putin isn't the only leader I have in mind. There is plenty of the same kind in other countries and also in the Western world. He is just easy to pick on, given the recent events.
If there is one thing that this war has shown us, it is that some people in leadership positions are no more intelligent than you or me. I would argue that some are crazier, more detached from reality, and don't understand what it means to live on this planet. They are full of themselves and lack a true understanding of reality.
In this world full of incompetent leaders with massive power, how can we stay focused on what is most important? How can we remain optimistic about the future? How can we protect and strengthen our personal leadership because it is needed - perhaps more than ever! We all can lead and be inspiring examples to our family, friends, others... Maybe that is all we can control: If each of us owns and strengthens our leadership, one person at a time, the world might get better, and who knows, we may inspire a whole new generation of leaders who will perhaps one day replace the irresponsible and wasteful leaders who don't deserve to have any power and influence in this world.