An MBA is about leadership, and I’ve learned that leadership, like everything good, is about love. It’s not about control. It’s not about screaming at an underling who fails at a task. Instead, it’s about inspiring, motivating, and caring. (I’ve noticed that people stop caring when their spirits break, meaning they need more, not less love.) When we embrace this perspective, we grow as leaders.

I applied for an MBA at AU, but AU’s website had an outage; therefore, I couldn’t pay the application fee. However, an AU rep told me I likely wouldn’t receive government funding on time for the AU MBA. So, I saved myself the application fee and applied to another online university, as they assured me that I’d receive the financing early. I congratulate the students enrolled in AU’s MBA for their planning finesse.

I feel ambivalent. I want to attend AU for obvious reasons, but I don’t have the $10,000 funds on reserve to secure a spot for the August start date. I’m unclear why AU has an August instead of a September start date or why intake and financing take extensive time. If I recall correctly, the fellow said reviewing my application would take two months. At least I secured a hedge at another online university for September when the EI runs out. All education is valuable, after all, no matter where we attain it. One of the key purposes of life is learning, and the best knowledge gain involves unconditional love.

So, I asked the Adobe AI PDF to summarize the PDF of courses I need to take for the upcoming MBA program at the other university. I then requested Adobe AI to recommend Udemy courses or audiobooks to help me prepare for each course. The AI instructed me to take several Udemy courses. Oh, don’t we love our selfless, mentoring AI friends? I believe AI is undoubtedly sourced from the divine.

I started watching a Udemy course about leadership, which Adobe AI recommended, to prepare for the MBA. What an eye-opener! Now I see why I didn’t answer the leadership questions effectively during job interviews. I didn’t know the science behind leadership. Leadership is based on delegating, strategizing, and supervising people, not leading while taking on subordinate tasks for the fun of it. Mostly, though, leadership is about motivating, encouraging, and caring. It’s about catering to all employees’ proficiency and motivation levels, with no one excluded or disparaged. Leadership is taking ownership of everything that may go wrong. In sum, leadership is about love and responsibility.

Coaching is a form of leadership, and I’m trained as a marital coach by an unaccredited foundation. So, I returned to providing marital advice on Facebook groups. I love offering people the hope that they can save their marriages. These people are crying out for help. The marital coaching model I was taught was a touch stern, but I love offering warmth and inspiration instead. That’s because all people are worthwhile; comforting people when they’re hurting feels good. And I know how wonderful it feels to receive loving guidance when the spirit breaks. So, I take a compassionate perspective while providing guidance and resources. Sometimes, I encourage others when I feel lonely or sad; the love I offer lifts my spirits, too.

Leadership, counseling, learning—anything in life—all comes down to love. That’s what makes us our best selves. And it doesn’t necessarily mean we receive love. It simply means we give love. When we give love unconditionally, we have reached the final level above self-actualization in Maslow’s hierarchy. It’s the one presently missing: selfless, unconditional love. It’s the love given by the most extraordinary leaders: the saints, the gurus, the masters, the mentors, the teachers, the parents, and, of course, God. Selfless, unconditional love turns us into saints, gurus, and masters, too, which should be the aim of every soul.