More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
Started reading
October 3, 2019
How we see ourselves affects our ability to follow others, our ability to lead others, and our ability to find the future God has for us.
And until you know who you are, you cannot do what God has called you to do.
Another way to say this is that our identities precede our actions; our behaviors flow from our identities. So before we spend any energy on what we do as leaders, we really need to spend some time on who we are as leaders, especially when we are not the ones in charge.
Why do we spend so much time and effort on self-awareness? Because the more you understand the makeup of your personality, the better you can understand how your identity shapes your thoughts, desires, and decisions, and the better you’ll be able to work with others.
What you believe about why you’re on earth will deeply affect the opportunities you see available to you and how you should capitalize on them with your time, gifts, talents, and energy.
You were created for something or someone bigger than yourself. • You were created to contribute to a greater good. • You were created to bring good to other people. • You were created to cultivate good in other people. • You certainly have a mission greater than making yourself happy.
The clearer you are about who you are . . . • the more consistent you will be with others. • the more confident you will be about what you do. • the less concerned you will be with the opinions of others. • the less confused you will be by your emotions.
And your identity will be best shaped if you allow your heavenly Father’s voice to be the loudest one in your life. Your identity is the right identity when you let it be defined by what God says about you.
was God calling Gideon to believe something about himself that he didn’t currently believe? God was speaking truth into Gideon’s identity, asking him to believe something that would change the way he led.
If you fail to believe what God says about your identity, you will fail to reach the potential he’s put in you as a leader.
when the ambition inside us is distorted, it affects every aspect of our leadership.
How you currently think about the ambition inside you is the product of your personal wiring and your past mentors. But what you do with that ambition going forward is on you.
I define ambition as that strong desire we have to make something or to achieve something, even when it takes great effort, focus, and determination.
It’s worth paying attention to that hunger you have because it’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it’s a key part of the drive that moves you to cultivate influence.
The extreme of killing ambition focuses on an internal solution to the problem, while the extreme of letting our ambition run wild tends to focus on an external solution. We look to blame others for our lack of authority, we contract a critical spirit toward those who are in charge, and we end up sabotaging the very thing we’re seeking. To quote Dr. Phil, “How’s that working for ya?”
Kabash /'kä bäSH/ to subdue, cultivate, and organize something in such a way that it thrives, grows, and flourishes “fill the earth and subdue it.”
God doesn’t want us to sit back. He wants us to responsibly engage, doing the work he has given us wherever we are, with whatever title or role he has currently assigned to us.
Great leaders, young and old, understand that God is the one who gives authority and that having influence is the path toward authority, not the other way around.
The way to lead is to serve, and the way to create something great is to give people space to thrive in the way God has gifted each one.
‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.
‘Love your neighbor as yourself’
You are in charge of you. You are in charge of your emotions, your thoughts, your reactions, and your decisions. It’s the law of personal responsibility, because everyone is responsible for leading something, even if that something is just you.
1. What did I do over the past few years that inspired you? 2. What did I do that frustrated you? 3. What do I not know about myself that has become a blind spot?
To lead yourself well, you need a plan.
I call it a “Lead Me Plan.”
1. Know where you currently are. 2. Have a vision for where you want to go. 3. Develop the discipline and accountability to do what it takes to stay on track.
The satisfaction employees have in a job is directly
correlated to their ability to see how what they do fits into the big picture.
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time” (1 Peter 5:6).
