Chapter 5: Determination to Make a Difference
Leaders are and must be determined to make a difference. Leaders are truly and completely focused on making and seeing a difference…a difference in those they lead, a difference in their project, a difference in their market, a difference in themselves, etc.
Someone said, “If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’ve got.” That’s why leaders carry such a relentless, full-throttle, passionate determination to get out of the ruts and to make a difference. Once again, I want to remind you that the almighty dollar cannot be the object of a true leader’s passion.
When you make a profitable, prosperous difference in life, you are sowing a seed. There is a universal, unalterable law that whatever you sow, you will reap. So, if you focus on making a difference in life, in those around you, in your environment, then you will reap that in your own life and part of what you reap is financial reward.
But, if you focus on just “getting,” then you will reap that in those around you; they will also be trying to “get” from you.
F.A.I.T.H. - Whenever I see the word faith, I think “Find Answers In The Heart.” Proverbs 4:23 says Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. You see, down in the heart is the key to the mystery of the life. It requires a super-determination to seek that out in those you lead and in yourself. A large part of determination is excavating the heart.
Determination is life’s rudder. I like to sail on open waters.
I’ve owned sailing vessels, and one of the things I’ve learned is that a rudder is absolutely essential to sailing. The rudder is the broad, flat sheet of wood or metal that is hinged vertically on the stern of a boat. Most of the rudder is below the water. By turning it, you control the direction of the boat. Without a rudder, a sailing vessel will literally spin around in circles. Without determination, a life will literally spin in circles. As soon as storms hit you (and they will hit you!), your life boat will be taken by the waves and the wind. Without a rudder, you can end up hitting the shoals of life and breaking apart. Never underestimate the power of determination!