Isaiah, Chapter 43, verse 1
But now, thus says the LORD, who created
you, Jacob, and formed you, Israel: Do not fear,
for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine.
God, as the Ultimate Leader,
consistently practices the Law of Sacrifice. Leaders will do the illogical and
surrender valuable possessions in order to fulfill and capture their dream.
Fortunately for us, we are God’s dream. Only through the prophet Isaiah does
God say directly to His people, “I love you.”[1]
If you desire to become the best leader you can be, then you need to be
willing to make sacrifices in order to lead well. If that is your desire, then
here are some things you need to know about the Law of Sacrifice. 1) There Is
No Success without Sacrifice – Every person who has achieved any success in
life has made sacrifices to do so.
Effective leaders sacrifice much that is good in order to dedicate
themselves to what is best. 2) Leaders Are Often Asked to Give Up More Than
Others –The heart of leadership to putting others ahead of yourself. It’s doing
what is best for the team. For that
reason, leaders have to give up their rights.
The cost of leadership: Leaders must be willing to give up more than the
people they lead. Leadership means sacrifice. 3) You Must Keep Giving Up to
Stay Up – Leadership success requires continual change, constant improvement,
and ongoing sacrifice. 4) The Higher the Level of Leadership, the Greater the
Sacrifice – The higher you go, the more it’s going to cost you. And it doesn’t
matter what kind of leadership career you pick. You will have to make
sacrifices. You will have to give up to
go up.
Spiritual Reading[1]
Spiritual reading is a
discipline. It is reading with a purpose. Sometimes we are inclined to read the
things that we want to but not the things we need to. Challenge yourself to
read something you need to read. Read at least 4 books a year that really give
you what you need. If you don’t know what to read ask someone or get a list of
recommended books or get yourself a spiritual director or careful here ask your
wife. I personally plan to choose a book I need to read at the four Ember Day
fasts for priests. I plan on reading them only 15 minutes a day just before I
go to sleep and what you read should lead you to prayer and in prayer we may
ask God to help us with our reading using a short prayer such as the one Eugene
Boylan proposed: “Jesus give me yourself through this book.” I want to read the
book slowly, absorb it and put the ideas into my personal schema and then put
the ideas into my daily practice of my life during those 3 months until the
next Ember Day fasts. Using this method I look forward to making real change in
my life; after a year or so then I will ask my wife what books I need to read.
Here is the present book I am reading. Prayer of the Warrior by Michael H. Brown. Interesting there is a chapter in there called, "Me and Hillary."
[1]
Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40 Catholic Customs and their biblical roots. Chap.
17. Spiritual Reading.
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