John Maxwell Quote

"He who thinketh he leadeth and hath no one following him is only out for a walk." - John Maxwell

MSM requires us to read several books during the year and write reports. We had a requirement for a book on leadership, so I picked John Maxwell not knowing anything about him except that I always see his books in the airport. Up until now I really never thought of myself as a leader, and didn't care to read such books. I've changed my mind now, and I think that every Christian should have some training in the subject. Leadership is influence. Every person influences someone at some point in life...even if they don't realize it. It is important to be aware of this influence and use it to benefit society to the best of our ability.

I met an old friend in the grocery store a year ago, and discovered how this had played out in our relationship. I'm not proud of this example, but it will make the point clearly. Somehow during our mini-reunion, we got to talking about exercise. He proudly told me that he had never forgotten my advice on exercise and had held to my example. I eagerly asked him what I had said (since I had forgotten). He told me, "You said I should never excercise unless I can do it right". Ouch! Did I say that? That was the worst advice I could have possibly given him on exercise, but it was a profound influence on his life, so much so that he had formed his health philosophy around it.

I think most often we do not realize how much influence we have on other people. You can see that this is true in a very interesting way. Grab a pen and paper, and scribble down the top 5 most influencial people in your life. Look at the names of each of these people, and think back whether or not you ever communicated to them the tremendous impact that they had on your life. In most cases, you will find you never had the opportunity to express thanks to them. Or even if you did, you probably didn't have the words to communicate how deeply they had changed your life forever. I know in my top 5 list, at least 1 of those people may not even remember who I am today...I was just one of many kids he taught at the church. If this is true in your case, it is also likely that someone you have impacted may have never found the way to express your influence in their life.

The point it not to make sure everyone knows how very much they mean to you. Hopefully you take time to tell special people how precious they are in your life. But the point I am making is that many times in our life experience, we have limited ability to acknowledge and thank those important people who may have only spent a few months or years building into our lives. Sometimes we don't even realize the impact they have had in us. But leadership (influence) is happening all around us and in us every day. I pray that your influence is better than the one I had on my friend at the grocery store!

God bless...

Ashley