FOLLOW THE LEADERSecretly many of those very same people have a deep inner longing
for something or someone to come along and arouse their smoldering
passions! Many are like Rip van Winkle – slumbering their way through
life in their own little dormant Sleepy Hollow. Others are like “Sleeping
Beauty,” awaiting the kiss of passion and purpose to arouse them from their
cosmic coma – and give them a new lease on life. In the business realm,
such people are often referred to as “sleepers.” Many of them will live
and die that way unless they are awakened by a good leader with a great
purpose and great passion!
Principle:
“Fear not that your life will come to an end,
but that it will never have a beginning!”^1
(John Henry Newman, British Theologian)Effective leaders are always marked by passion. There is absolutely no
substitute for passion in leadership. Nothing else can take the place of
passion in the life of a leader – neither age...nor education...nor degrees...
nor experience...nor money...nor position...nor power. There is nothing that
will compensate for a lack of passion in leadership. Passion produces what
nothing else can in the life of a leader – achievement.
Principle:
“A leader with great passion and few skills always out
performs a leader with great skills and no passion.”^2
(John Maxwell)Noted leadership guru, John Maxwell, is passionate about passion! He
expresses it this way: “Passion is the first step to achievement.”^3 Concerning
the priority of passion in the life of a leader, Maxwell quotes noted author
Napoleon Hill, as saying: “The starting point of all achievement is desire.”
If you are going to be an effective leader, you’ve got to know what you
want. You must have a “desire that drives you!” In spiritual terms, you must
have a white hot “holy passion” that inflames you! Passion is absolutely
necessary for leadership – whether one is leading in the home...in the
church...in politics...or in the military. The famous military Field
Marshal, Ferdinand Foch, observed: “The most powerful weapon on earth is
the human soul on fire.”^4 John Wesley told his young preachers: “If you will