Let’s all just lean back in our nice soft camp chairs, fill up our coffee cups one more time, take a deep breath, look up at the stars and take in, with grateful hearts, the magnificence of the heavens.  Who says there is no God?   Life as we know it right now didn’t just come into being because a bunch of atoms and molecules bumped into each other by accident.  No, Our God, created the heavens and the earth.  He wrote all about it in The Book of Genesis, Chapters 1 and 2.  He discussed it further in Psalm 33 and in many other places throughout the Holy Scriptures.

It has been fun, hasn’t it,… just sitting around the campfire and talking about all of the wonderful subjects, situations, and different points of view.  You know, if we don’t make it a point and take the time to be together on a regular basis…say like every Monday of the week when a new blog is posted, then our personal relationships will never grow and get any bigger and better than they presently are.  You see, this whole experience surrounding my website is all about each of us growing into a better, kinder, wiser, more understanding and compassionate friend, person, and citizen.  That is such an important purpose and reason, that I simply could not even attempt doing it without inviting God to be part of it.

Growth is this group’s watchword.…..So,…let me stir up the embers and throw a couple more logs onto the campfire and tell you more about how best to grow your business organization, your family, your social groups and yourself.  My information comes directly from the time I have spent on the trail and in the saddle of my life’s walk.  I sincerely hope it is beneficial to you.

Success is not an accident.  It doesn’t just happen one day without any advanced planning and preparation.  It doesn’t just happen to a randomly selected few.  Success is definitely a planned event.  Since we have already established that “Everything rises and falls based upon leadership,” we should all be well aware of the need for each of us to become better and stronger leaders.   Are we all in agreement?  Yes we are!

Leadership is, for all intents and purposes, nothing more than influence.  It is the influence and affect you have on other people in a positive, uplifting, and creative way.

We are all most capable of growing...remember it has only taken you the same number of years in your life as you are old,…. to get to where you are today.  You definitely know how to grow.  And, you got here one day at a time, no matter how bad you wanted to get here sooner.  Never forget this statement of truth:  It only takes twenty years to become an overnight success.  Patience is a powerful thing and it is the cornerstone of all successful people.

Now I say to you that what a man or woman creates by themselves is really not the true measure of them as a leader.  No it is not just what they as individuals create, build, organize, accomplish, or construct, but rather their true and lasting value is how many other people were they able to teach, train, mentor, coach, develop, and equip into becoming great leaders themselves.  Such developed and trained other sub-leaders are the ones who will carry the head-leader’s legacy into the future. The truth of the matter is that there can be no real success without a successor.  The most successful of all the people who are leaders,… is the leader who helps and assists the most other people under his mentorship to become great and greater leaders than is he.

You cannot be selfish and ever become a great leader.  Oh, you may rise high and achieve much for yourself and your own family,….but that is not a real true measure of greatness.  How many other people are blessed and successful and prosperous because of your influence in their lives?….that is the true measure of an individual’s greatness.

Let’s take a quick look at what God has to say about extending your own influence.  When in doubt about anything, it is always a very good idea for you to go the Holy Bible and check out what God has to say about the issue with which you are dealing.  In this instance, God lays it all out in The Book of Mark, Chapter 3, verses 13-15, NKJV :

The Twelve Apostles

(13)  “And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted.  And they came to Him.

(14)   Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, 

(15)  and to have power to heal sickness and to cast out demons:”

I certainly hope that you know or will soon come to learn that all power in heaven and earth for anyone to do anything comes from Almighty God, The Creator of The Universe.  Not from any other source.  God gives you the power to perform…any task…even those for which you are not fully qualified.  It is for this very reason alone that no one can ever use an excuse that is acceptable to prevent them from at least trying to do something greater than themselves.  Do you trust God and His Power or don’t you?

Now for some real truth.  The people with whom you associate, the people who surround you and give you input and influence are an extremely important group to you.  It is they who will be the most influential in your life.  You can always tell what anyone is really like by examining the company they keep.  Now listen, those people who are closest to you will always determine the level of your success or failure.  Permit me to ask you a question…..Take a moment and quickly take a mental inventory of the five people who are indeed closest to you right now…the ones with whom you spend the most time associating, working and playing.  What caliber of people are they?  What are their credentials?

If you will just be totally open and honest with yourself , you may well be surprised (or maybe not surprised) to discover why you are where you are in life right now.  Do you see any necessary changes you need to make?  If so,… quickly get about making them.

I think you will glad to know that you will find the very same thing I discovered when I went through this exercise myself.  Namely, the only places where your influence and productivity are actually growing is where you have identified potential leaders and are working with them to help them develop into greater leaders.

Now if you cannot identify any such people with whom you are working, you need more new people in your life from whom you will draw new potential candidates for leadership training! Do you see clearly now why you need to be adding new people to your own business every week.  Only by putting new DNA into the pool from which to draw will you ever be able to have a new oncoming stream of candidates for future leadership roles.

Spending time with these potential leaders is just like investing.  You expect to have a return on your investment.  The people who you empower and give your resources to who are truly leadership oriented will begin to take your mentorship and use it and go on to become great leaders themselves.  They will win and be benefitted and so will you.  When you are dealing with the right people, i.e. the people qualified to grow into great leaders, then the more you invest, the greater will be your return.

Here is what it all boils down to…..if you are to grow on to the next higher level of success in your own business, the only way you are going to achieve that is by “extending yourself with and through other people.”

You do not turn a man or woman into a leader with a pill, a magic wand, or even some sort of concocted potion.  No, that is not the way it happens.  It is not luck or chance that pulls the rabbit out of the hat.  Remember, success is a planned event.  What is required to make the whole process work is for you to first find, and then take, a potential candidate,…i.e. a person who desires to be a leader, who will listen and learn and follow your guidance, and who is by themselves willing and able to take your knowledge and training and immediately put it into use and start helping other people grow and become greater than they are.  It is only then that you have a “match.”   Once you have a qualified “student” all that remains for you to do is to pour your own life, your own knowledge and experience into them.  Help them become the person they want to become and help them to accept the responsibility of taking their training and pouring it on forward in to some other person’s life so as to perpetuate the whole process on into the years ahead.  Each one teach one.  It is called duplication and it is one the greatest ways to create great wealth that exists today.

Keep it simple and enjoy the journey.  Have some fun,…while you are making money.

Peace and Love To All Of You………Poppa Bear