Category Archives: Leadership
The Secret Life of David Petraeus
It was a harmless dalliance far from home. Who would know? Who would care? A man has needs and you can hardly blame him for meeting them.
He was a prize, something no one else could get. Knowing him brought recognition and respect, securing his attention was a good thing so you can hardly blame a girl for using her natural endowments to get ahead in life. Read the rest of this entry
Why Only Winners Count.
If you want to be great you have to win! No one enjoys being the forgotten loser so we learn to focus on winning at all costs and, when we can’t, we save face by trashing the contest and bad-mouthing the winner. Trouble is Read the rest of this entry
When Ambition Meets Harsh Reality.
“He’s daydreaming beyond his talents,” Dan said about our buddy. The subject of this remark was an overly ambitious young guy. “He would go so much further if he wasn’t so clueless.” Read the rest of this entry
Ambition Needs The Killer Instinct.
If you can understand him, old Will Shakespeare gave us some great insights. Try this one for size: When Macbeth had his ambition stirred by three witches pointing out he could become king by assassinating his faithful lord, he drew back from committing the crime.
His hardened wife read his letter hinting at his emotions and mused of him: “Thou wouldst be great; Art not without ambition, but without the illness that should attend it.” Read the rest of this entry
How To Really Get Ahead In Life.
Is ambition good or bad? Desirable or something to avoid at all costs? Is it okay to want to get ahead in life or is the spiritual person suppose to be free from all that stuff and just passively accept whatever life brings? Read the rest of this entry
The Powerful Example of Jerry Sandusky
It was a small church and the part-time youth worker had way too much to do and way too little time to do it. Their community had a lot of what others would call “troubled youth” – kids who needed far more parenting than they ever got. Matt was always running at full speed just to keep up. Read the rest of this entry
Don’t Feel Inferior, But God Talks To Me.
“God told me I am to work with you this year.” Liz had learned the hard way to take this statement very lightly. She had worked hard to build a top-notch children’s ministry and it was incredibly effective. She had a lot of fun working with the kids Read the rest of this entry
God’s Chosen Weapon For Changing The World Is . . .
The church had a vision statement that covered all the bases. No one could take issue with the noble things it talked about and the statement contained something for everyone. The problem was the church was rapidly shrinking and nothing the pastor and lay leaders did could stop the loss of members.
So Why Don’t We Pray, “God, Make This Harder!”?
If we imagine the very best dream we have for our lives it is likely to be some version of Utopia (ideal life, free from challenges and problems) with us as successful and competent heroes. So why does it seem that God’s idea of Utopia for us involves struggle, uncertainty, despair, hardship and a freakish collection of things we are determined to avoid? Doesn’t he get it? Read the rest of this entry
One Easy Step to Become a Fantastic Leader Everyone Wants to Follow
“Can you name a person who has had a tremendous impact on you as a leader? Maybe some one who has been a mentor to you? Why and how did this person impact your life?”
We get so focussed on encouraging everyone to strive to become a leader that sometimes we forget that leaders are absolutely nothing without followers, yet Read the rest of this entry
