“Example is not the main thing in influencing others . . . it is the only thing.”

“A leader with great passion and few skills always outperforms a leader with great skills and no passion.”

“The Constitution guarantees free speech, but it doesn’t guarantee listeners.”

“The Cost and Expectation of Leadership Leviticus 7:33–35 Aaron, like many leaders throughout history, received a divine calling. God chose Aaron and his sons to serve as Israel’s priests and charged them with carrying out rituals and sacrifices on behalf of all Israelites. Scripture gives meticulous detail to their ordination and calling. Their conduct was to be beyond reproach—and God made it crystal clear that failure to uphold His established guidelines would result in death. Numerous accounts in the Book of Leviticus demonstrate the high cost and expectation that goes with a holy calling to leadership positions. As the high priest, Aaron was the only one authorized to enter the Most Holy Place and appear before the very presence of God. The Lord set Aaron apart for his holy work. Despite his high calling, Aaron struggled with his authority and later caved in to the depraved wishes of the people. He failed at a crucial juncture and led Israel in a pagan worship service, an abomination that led to the deaths of many Israelites. Aaron had been set apart for God’s service, but he chose to live and lead otherwise. The failure of a leader usually results in consequences far more grave than the fall of a non-leader. On the day Aaron failed, “about three thousand men of the people fell [died]” (Ex. 32:28). When leaders fail, followers pay the price.”

“The bottom line in leadership isn't how far we advance ourselves but how far we advance others.”

“If you want people to remember what you say, you need to say the right thing at the right moment in the right way!”

“In the end, people are persuaded not by what we say, but by what they understand.” 

“Leaders have to grow into their roles, and if the role becomes more demanding, the leader has to keep growing. Leadership is never a right. It’s a privilege and a responsibility. But it’s one that is open to anyone who’s willing to work hard enough to get it.”

“To put significance in our stories, we must also take action. Being passive may feel safe. If you do nothing, nothing can go wrong. But while inaction cannot fail, it cannot succeed either. We can wait, and hope, and wish, but if we do, we miss the stories our lives could be.”

“Life’s greatest rewards come from your inner self, from the choices you make, from how you decide to live under whatever circumstances you find yourself in.”

“the leader’s prayer written by Pauline H. Peters: “God, when I am wrong, make me willing to change. When I am right, make me easy to live with. So strengthen me that the power of my example will far exceed the authority of my rank.”

“The happiest people are those who have invested their time in others. The unhappiest people are those who wonder how the world is going to make them happy.”

“If you are willing to change your thinking, you can change your feelings.”

“Ninety percent of all those who fail are not actually defeated. They simply quit.”

“There are two things that are most difficult to get people to do: to think, and to do things in order of importance.”