The Every Day Leader: Who are YOU?

 

One of the most important aspects of being a leader is to know yourself.  Know without a shadow of a doubt: what you value, what your passions are, how you see life, how you see others, and who you are. 

Knowing yourself is the foundation of leadership.  If you don’t know who you are, if you are not firmly rooted in your beliefs, your values, etc, how will you be consistent to live them out?  Why would others follow you?    

If someone asked you today what is it that you value the most, would you have to think about it or could you immediately respond?

 Are you living your life in such a way that it reflects who you are?

 

One of the greatest ways to influence is to model what you believe before others. Be the person you want others to be. How we live each day stands out more than:

the words we say

more than the things we do

more than the accomplishments we have done

 Our actions ALWAYS speak louder than words. Living our life out loud is how we influence others. What do you want others to see in your life?

One of the greatest ways for leaders to live is to lead  a life that reflects love.  A life that has a mindset and attitude of loving others is powerful.  When we lead with love we are…

generous

kind

Others know that we value them

We put others first

We become servant leaders

Every day leaders know themselves.  They know who they are, what they value and how they want to live their lives.

 

 

The Every Day Leader: Footprints on a heart

“Our days are numbered. One of the primary goals in our lives should be to prepare for our last day. The legacy we leave is not just in our possessions, but in the quality of our lives. What preparations should we be making now? The greatest waste in all of our earth, which cannot be recycled or reclaimed, is our waste of the time that God has given us each day.”  Billy Graham

Our days are numbered.

It is something we all know, but struggle with really knowing how to make that concept come alive in the midst of our busy lives.

 How can we possibly be concerned with leaving a legacy and making our days count, when often we are simply trying to survive and get everything done that we need to?

 Many times we think that leaving a legacy means that we have to be older and mature or having done something great to be able to pass on.  I love what the quote above says:

“The legacy we leave is not just in our possessions, but in the quality of our lives”

Age doesn’t matter.

 Experience doesn’t matter

 Knowledge doesn’t matter

 What you own doesn’t matter

 The amount of wealth doesn’t matter

 Your accomplishments don’t matter

 

What matters is how we intentionally live each day to make a difference.

 We all have the opportunity to begin leaving a legacy today.

It is in the how we live. 

We as every day leaders choose to invest in the life of another through what we model, how we love, and how we walk each of those numbered days. It is daily that we can make a difference in the lives of others.  It may even be a difference  that can impact generations. 

This is how we make each of our days count.  This is how we leave a legacy, the legacy that is not based on your age, your experience, your knowledge, your possessions or wealth, or anything great thing you have done but instead based on…

How you live.

 Your legacy is the footprint you leave in the lives that you touch

Everyday leaders know that our days are numbered. This is why we intentionally live our lives and take advantage of every opportunity God gives us, to leave a legacy.

Intentionally making each day count.  Touching lives.  Making a difference.  That’s what everyday leaders do.