FollowtheLeader.indd

LEADERS ARE PURPOSEFUL

“Inspirational dissatisfaction inspires

a person to high attainment; despondent

dissatisfaction paralyzes the action nerve,

corrodes the spirit, and wrecks the life.”

(John Haggai)

Without inspirational dissatisfaction, a person would make peace with

the status quo, he would not see a need for change, could not grasp a

vision of growth, and could not step out in faith. Inspirational

dissatisfaction is an essential step to grasping a vision.

Inspirational dissatisfaction inspires a person to high attainment.^21

This inspirational dissatisfaction becomes the stimulus for positive change...
for decisiveness...for growth...for maturity...for leadership. Without it,
a person can become morose, cynical, inert, depressed. As C.S. Lewis
pointed out, all of us have an eternal longing that can never be fully
satisfied in this life – because we were meant for eternity. God put this
within us so that we would have that inspirational dissatisfaction that
would compel us to live on earth with an eternal purpose. Without that, we
lapse into what Haggai calls a despondent dissatisfaction, which he says “...
paralyzes the action nerve, corrodes the spirit, and wrecks the life.”^22

Paul Powell made a similar observation in the conclusions of his great
book on leadership:

The people who have made worthwhile contributions to civilization are

those who have been restless and dissatisfied with the status quo...I

wish the same holy restlessness for you...It’s the stuff that makes

for a good leader.^23

Concerning this desire – “holy restlessness” – to live for something higher
than one’s self, Richard Phillips rightly observed:

It is true that people will work for wages and are motivated by recognition

and reward. But at the heart of working men and women is the longing –

though oft forgotten and sadly despaired of – to participate in something

greater than themselves, to belong to a cause that is meaningful and to

share in a legacy that endures.^24

Recently a young woman wrote me about her current job. Even though she
was very successful, with all of the accompanying economic benefits of