“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.”

“One day when the Raiders were in Oakland, a reporter visited their locker room to talk to Ken Stabler. Stabler really wasn’t known as an intellectual, but he was a good quarterback. This newspaperman read him some English prose: “I would rather be ashes than dust. I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than that it should be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy, impermanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.” After reading this to the quarterback, the reporter asked, “What does this mean to you?” Stabler immediately replied, “Throw deep.” Go after it. Go out to win in life.”

“The best way to become a person that others are drawn to is to develop qualities that we are attracted to in others.

“LEADERS Initiate Lead; pick up phone and make contact Spend time planning anticipate problems Invest time with people Fill the calendar by priorities FOLLOWERS React Listen; wait for phone to ring Spend time living day-to-day; react to problems Spend time with people Fill the calendar by requests”

“Nothing much happens without a dream. For something really great to happen, it takes a really great dream.”

“Las personas se están preparando para el éxito cuando deberían estarse preparando para el fracaso. Fracasar es mucho más común que triunfar; la pobreza está más generalizada que la riqueza; y la desilusión es más normal que los logros.”

“People who wait for the one great opportunity often keep waiting.”

“More than anything else, what keeps a person going in the midst of adversity is having a sense of purpose. It is the fuel that powers persistence.”

“One of the paradoxes of life is that the things that initially make you successful are rarely the things that keep you successful.”

“Pride is at the bottom of all great mistakes.”

“Some people want to put restrictions on themselves according to their talent, intelligence, or experience. Others worry about their age. But with God, one person can always make a difference, regardless of circumstances or situation. And age means nothing to Him. When Jesus fed the five thousand, a boy provided the loaves and fishes (John 6:1-13). And in the case of Noah, when it began to rain and he entered the ark, he was six hundred years old! You’re never too old—or too young—to make a difference for God.”

“The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts.”

“The road to the next level is always uphill, and if a team isn’t intentionally fighting to move up, then it inevitably slides down.”

“El lamento nos deja sin energía. No podemos construir sobre el lamento. El temor al futuro nos distrae y nos llena de aprensión.”

“Being heard is so close to being loved, that for the average person, they are almost indistinguishable.”