I love the movie Scent of a Woman. It has one of my favorite speeches from a movie in it. Here are a few lines from it that I’d like to expound on:

“I’ve been around you know, there was a time I could see. And I have seen boys like these, younger these, their arms torn out, their legs ripped off, but there is nothing like the site of an amputated spirit. There is no prosthetic for that. You think you’re merely sending this splendid foot solider back to Oregon with his tail between his legs, but I say, you are executing his soul . . . Makers of men, creators of leaders, be careful what kind of leaders you’re producing here.”

Have you ever had an amputated spirit due to someone else tearing you down? Has someone ever spoken things to you that have stuck with you for weeks, months, or even years? Have you ever had a leader that you respect tear you down?

How about the opposite? Has you life ever been lifted because of a leader? Have you ever been built up by a leader that you’ve had in your life?

So many people’s lives have been shaped and formed by what the leaders that were in their life when they were young have spoken over them. Parents, teachers, youth pastors, aunts, uncles, you name it. They all have a part in creating who we end up becoming.

The point of this post is to make us realize how important our roles are as leaders and how vital it is that we handle our influence responsibly.

We’re all leaders in one way, shape, or form. We all have influence over someone. As leaders, everyday we have the opportunity to either lift people’s lives or tear them down. We have the opportunity to shape and to mold everyone we come in contact with and have influence over. We can either help someone with our influence, or execute them. Everyday we have the opportunity to either amputate someone’s soul or to be a prosthetic for them.

“Creators of Leaders, Be Careful What kind of Leaders You’re Producing“

What kind of leaders are you producing through your words and your influence?

I’m always amazed by what God can do in one person’s life. When I think of what He has done in my life, the places He’s taken me, the people he has allowed me to be around, the things He has enabled and allowed me to do, where He has taken me from . . . it is unbelievable.

One of my favorite verses over the past year has been Psalm 113:7-8: He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes, even the princes of his own people!

God said He’ll lift you from garbage heaps and bring you into a place where you’re hanging out with royalty, not just people the world looks up to, but people that God is using in huge ways all over the world! That always reminds me of an All Access/Backstage experience. When you go back stage in a concert, you get an experience that few other people get in their lives.

Here is what I’ve found through serving God: When you follow God’s plan for your life, it is like having a VIP Back Stage All Access Pass to the Greatest Life you can Live.

You’ll go places that no one else has gone, you’ll be around people you never dreamed you get the opportunity of being around, you’ll do the impossible.

And the best part… God has a unique backstage pass for everyone on the planet! They are available to anyone who will put Him first.

So what are you waiting for? Go after God with everything you’ve got. Stop trying to create your own VIP/All Access experience in life. The best life you could create on your own fails in comparison to the life that God has planned for you. Let God take you backstage in life it’s better than anything you’ll ever experience on your own.

Laura and I got engaged on April 16th, 2011 in Boston, Mass! Here is our story! Enjoy!