When I was 18 years old, one of my mentors, Pastor Larry Bettencourt, handed me a CD with a leadership lesson on it. The lesson was called “Standing Tall” by John C. Maxwell. I never heard of him and I definitely never listened to a leadership CD before that time.

I put the CD in my CD players and within 5 minutes I was hooked! I didn’t know the lesson came with notes, so I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down everything John was saying. I rewound the lessons a few dozen times.

After listening to the lesson, I called Pastor Larry and said, “I want more of this! Give me everything you got!” Over the course of that next year, I’d literally take a lesson home each night and listen to it before bed. I would take some of Maxwell’s leadership DVD curriculum home and go through it over a weekend. I devoured everything I could!

John Maxwell has been a catalyst to so many changes in my life. So much of who I am and what I do is a result of John’s teachings.

To this day, I read everything he writes and still listen to his monthly leadership lessons. Without a doubt, he has been one of the most influential people in my life.

I love John because he was a pastor for 25 years and through his leadership training, he has positioned himself to be influential not only in the church world, but in the government world, education world, business world, etc. He uses the influence God gave him to make a difference for God. That’s definitely a dream and passion of my heart. I’m grateful for John paving the way!

Tonight I get to hear John speak in person for the first time ever. It’s always been a dream of mine to hear him live and get the opportunity to meet him! I’m hoping he’ll be doing a book signing after service so I get the chance to meet him. If I do, you’ll hear about it, trust me! I’m so fired up!

Who has had a huge impact on your life from a distance that you’ve never met or heard live before?

But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer. -Luke  5:16

Yesterday, I went to a mentor lunch with a bunch of youth pastors from around the city. We’re all going through Fathers of the Faith curriculum together. It’s a bunch of pastors who have been in ministry for years and seen great success. They were talking about the importance of spending time with God and in God’s Word everyday.

“Everyday you need to have an unhurried time with God!”

One  pastor said this, “Everyday you need to have an unhurried time with God. I meet with CEO’s that tell me they’re too busy to wake up early and spend time with God, and I tell them, you don’t have any idea who you’re meeting when you do that, you’re meeting the creator of the Universe!” They end up making time for God, and it revolutionizes their lives.

For me, it’s  easy to make time for God. It’s difficult for me  to make it unhurried time. I need to remind myself who I’m meeting with when I’m spending time with God. Could there be a more important meeting all day? I know if John Maxwell wanted to spend a few hours with me, trust me, I would make it unhurried time! I’m determining to make my time with God unhurried!

One of my mentors, Jeanne Mayo, says, “I’ve never met anyone who fell morally who didn’t stop having time with God on a daily basis first.” That’s a fact.

So, my question to you is: Do you spend time with God daily? If so, is it rushed? If so, change that! Slow down. Enjoy God.

Remember who you’re meeting with. There isn’t anything more important. It will change your life.

Why not go spend some unhurried time with him right now?

Thoughts?

Every month I listen to John Maxwell’s, Maximum Impact Lessons. A few years ago, he did a lesson called. “The Laws of Lifetime Growth”. Out of all of his lessons, I listen to that one the most. One of the laws is: Always Make Your Purpose Greater than Your Money. In it he says:

“Always make your purpose greater than your money! Greater purpose is essential for lifetime growth. Many people start of their careers thinking money is the goal. Money can be a useful measure of success, or progress in certain circumstances, and it’s a resource to realize greater possibilities, but at some point, money without purpose, loses it’s meaning.Money as an end, becomes a growth stopper.

Having a purpose that is greater than yourself will give you a constant impedes to strive! Purpose gives life meaning and helps us to direct and focus our talents and efforts. It attracts the talents and energy of others.Think of money only as a means of achieving a greater purpose, and you’ll attract all the resources and rewards that make up a rich life, not just money”

He then says, Success in Life is Three Things:

1.) Knowing my Purpose in Life

2.) Growing to my Maximum Potential

3.) Sowing Seeds to Benefit Others

John finishes the law by saying this:

“Stay with where your purpose is, stay with what you’re supposed to be doing. All this other stuff, it comes to you. Your job isn’t to worry about what you’re going to reap, your job is to worry about what you’re going to sow.”

I’ve heard it said that there are 3 stages in life: “Learn, Earn, and Return”. I like that. In my twenty’s, I’m learning. In time, I know I’ll be earning, and in the end, my goal is to return everything I earned and give it all away.

I’ve made this decision in my heart, that I’ll always make pursue my purpose over my paycheck. How about you?

Thoughts?