We all love comfort. It is human nature. We want Easter without Good Friday. Our desire is to have a fall harvest without going through the summer drought. We want the gain without the pain. But leaders know this is not possible.
Leaders Will Always Fail If They Do Not Persevere. In my book, The 10 Indispensable Practices Of A 2-Minute Leader, I outlined the journey a leader must go through to have success.
- Practice 1 – Dreaming. What has God put in your heart to do great for Him?
- Practice 2 – Thinking. How are you going to make the dream become reality?
- Practice 3 – Relating. Anything done great for God requires a team. You have to begin connecting with people and building relationships.
- Practice 4 – Enlisting. Now it is time to begin building the team.
- Practice 5 – Positioning. The people are now on the bus. It is time to get them in the right seats.
- Practice 6 – Communicating. Every leader sooner or later must stand up and say, “Here’s where we’re going. Follow me!”
- Practice 7 – Executing. Now let’s execute the plan.
- Practice 8 – Adjusting. The military has a saying, “Every plan is perfect until the first bullet is fired.” Nothing is perfect. Adjustments must be made.
- Practice 9 – Persevering. A leader must survive the good times and the bad times.
- Practice 10 – Celebration. And if you survive the good times and bad times, then you get the celebrate your dream becoming reality. And a leader who cannot celebrate is not a leader worth following.
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The practice I want to to discuss right now is Persevering and its companion quality, desperation. I recently spoke with one of America’s top Christian leaders on this subject. As he spoke, I gleaned 14 Benefits Desperate Leaders Experience. First is the lesson followed by his quote.
- Desperate Leaders Self-Evaluate And Are More Self-Aware – “I’m shocked at the extent at which comfort matters to me.”
- Desperate Leaders Learn To Trust God – “I think I trust God with my money but spend a lot of time figuring out my retirement.”
- Desperate Leaders Find Their Approval From God Alone – “I was surprised at how much man’s applause still matter to me.”
- Desperate Leaders Often Do Their Best Work – “I think I’ve done the best work in my work but the financials don’t show it.”
- Desperate Leaders Have Their Calling Reaffirmed – “I’m certain this is where God has called me.”
- Desperate Leaders Experience Personal Growth – “I need this for my personal growth.”
- Desperate Leaders Experience Holy Frustration – “One of the things that frustrates me is how easily I go from desperation to ‘(God) I got this.'”
- Desperate Leaders Will Live A Life Of Faith And Uncertainty – “I need to be desperate every day. ‘(God) You mean for the rest of my life the outcome is going to be uncertain?'”
- Desperate Leaders Can Unexpectedly Experience A Sweet Season Of Life – “This is the sweetest season because I’m desperate for God.”
- Desperate Leaders Can Learn Humility – “It’s hard to be full of yourself when you’re desperate.”
- Desperate Leaders Often Have More Healthy Relationships – “I have never been closer to more folks that encourage me daily.”
- Desperate Leaders Need Desperation – “I find myself needing desperation.”
- Desperate Leaders Develop A New Definition Of Success – “We are succeeding because we’re doing what God’s called us to do. Just not by historical definition.”
- Desperate Leaders Develop A New Perspective – “Are you really struggling because you’re not selling as many goods as you’d like to?”
Leaders, I have two questions for you. Are you persevering? Are you desperate? If not, you will never be as successful as you could be.
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