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from a respected university in England to his apartheid-oppressed people. He was lifted to a place where he saw a South Africa in which all men were equal, dignified, and free.

He was willing to sacrifice the most valuable years of his life in a prison cell for the sake of this dream. This is inspiration.

Mother Teresa left her teaching job because she envisioned a ministry of serving the “poorest of the poor” in India. In the process, she brought worldwide attention to the plight of the outcast, sick, and destitute. She sparked the same vision in the hearts of many other people who continue to bring care and dignity to those whom society has discarded. This is inspiration.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was persecuted and sent to work camps as punishment for his criticism of Stalin and his opposition to the Soviet system. Yet, through his brilliant writings, he promoted a time when his people would be free from Communist oppression. He motivated others within the Soviet Union to reveal the atrocities committed against its citizens and inspired people around the world to work toward their liberation. This is inspiration.

Steve Jobs envisioned and developed a small computer that people could use in their workspaces and homes, replacing cumbersome, large-scale computers. Bill Gates saw the potential of giving every person access to people-friendly computer software. His dream led him to establish what became the global Microsoft empire. This is inspiration.

You must first be inspired before you can share your inspiration with others. This inspiration comes from your purpose and vision. When you discover who you are, why you were born, your value as a human being, and your God-given potential, then and only then can you capture the power of purpose, which generates a vision. By developing your vision, you know clearly what you want and how to pursue it. When your vision becomes an integral part of your thoughts, incentives, plans, and actions, then you will inspire others to join you. You will have energy and passion for living that will motivate those around you. You will begin to experience what it means to be a leader.

Inspiration Is Central to Leadership

If you take away just one truth from this book, let it be that inspiration is central to leadership. Inspiration is the capacity to cause others to discover themselves, their purposes, and their abilities, and to maximize their potential.

The source of inspiration is our Creator, and He is therefore the source of genuine leadership. Those who do not acknowledge the Creator and have not been reconciled to Him may exhibit manifestations of inspiration because they are still created in His image. Yet for all their influence, they are missing a vital aspect of leadership in the Creator’s original and highest plan for humanity. We must be directed and empowered by God’s Spirit to lead in a way that reflects the full extent of His purposes for our lives.

To inspire means “to activate, stimulate, energize, illuminate, or motivate by divine influence”; it means “to breathe into.”

Paul used the word breathed in explaining the source of Scripture:

All Scripture is God-breathed [“inspired by God” nasb] and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

(2 Timothy 3:16)

Inspiration is the heart of true leadership, and the breath of the Spirit of God is the source of inspiration. This is why, in order to be the leader that the Creator intended you to be, you must have a personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. Allow Him to breathe into your being a purpose and vision for your life that will strengthen your faith and activate a passion in your heart to accomplish His dream. This soul-inspiring vision and passionate drive to fulfill a call transforms one from a follower into a leader. A true leader’s work is not a job or career but the very life he lives in becoming what God made him to be. It is his life.

Inspiration is the only foundation for willing obedience based on love. Jesus expressed this principle in His appeal to His disciples, saying, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). The leader’s deep commitment to become and express his true self is the source of inspiration that stimulates others around him to strive to discover and become the best they can be. This commitment to help others generates in them commitment, cooperation, and respect for the

leader’s authority in his realm of influence. We are leaders to the extent that we can inspire others to join with us in fulfilling the vision. Leadership identifies and develops new talents and releases human potential.

Inspiring Others

Leadership depends on the ability to make people want to join in the vision. This can come only through inspiration. Is your vision God-inspired and compelling enough that people begin to help you with it, even though they may not have wanted to initially? Consider the effect of Jesus’ leadership on His disciples. For example, when He said, “Let’s go to Samaria,” they didn’t want to go. I imagine they were thinking, We don’t mix with the Samaritans. But Jesus sat on a well right outside Samaria and talked with a troubled Samaritan woman in order to help them see the vision He had for the Samaritans.

When that conversation was over, the nearby Samaritan town invited Jesus to stay there, and all the disciples went along.

(See John 4:3–42.)

I believe most of these Samaritans were looking around and saying, “These Jews are in our town?” Jesus’ disciple Peter might have said, “I’m here only because of Him.” Of course, after Peter was filled with the Spirit of God, he went back with John and prayed for the Samaritans to receive the Holy Spirit, also. He and John preached the gospel in many Samaritan villages. (See Acts 8:14–25.) The key to mobilizing others is inspiration. If you can inspire, you can mobilize. This is leadership.

J. Oswald Sanders wrote, “The ability to inspire others to serve and sacrifice is the mark of a true leader.”15 Inspiration is the capacity to mobilize, activate, motivate, stimulate, and cause others—by your own character and vision—to initiate a change of their own priorities and to participate in a corporate vision. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream that Americans of every race could live without prejudice and racism, and that they could be judged only by the “content of their character.”

He paid the ultimate sacrifice for this dream but helped change both the laws of his country and the hearts of many of its people. In the process, he inspired others to share his vision and to work toward its fulfillment.

Inspiration is the foundation of true cooperation. When a leader conveys his vision, those who receive it become excited about participating because they see how their own purposes and visions find fulfillment in it. Participating in a corporate vision is not meant to give you vision. You should have your own vision to begin with. Rather, your exposure to a corporate vision can stir up your personal vision as you discover a way to put your vision into practice through it. Always remember that you don’t receive your vision from other people, but you often fulfill it in conjunction with others. The leader of the corporate vision helps to activate the passions, dreams, gifts, and talents of those who participate with him in carrying out the vision.

The Power of Inspiration

In 1980, Ronald Reagan inspired the American people with a

message of optimism after they had experienced years of recession, gasoline shortages, and daily newscasts about American hostages in Iran. His platform of a return to prosperity and strength resonated with many people in both parties. His popularity stemmed not only from his wit and communication skills, but also from his ability to connect with Americans and inspire them on a basic level concerning their belief in the values of optimism, ingenuity, and freedom.

During the highly contested U.S. presidential race of 2008, a young man of mixed race (his father was black, from Kenya, and his mother was white, from the United States) surprised many by emerging as the presidential candidate for the Democratic Party. As I write this book, the outcome of the election is still being decided. Regardless of party affiliation, or whether they agree with his political positions or not, people acknowledge Barack Obama’s ability to inspire others. He first came into the national spotlight when he gave a speech about his vision for America at the Democratic National Convention in 2004 while he was running for the U.S. Senate. This speech received favorable reviews from people on both sides of the aisle and in the media. People could feel the passion coming from him because of his vision. After declaring his candidacy for the 2008 presidential race, he subsequently inspired many people, who came out for his public appearances and responded to his message of “hope.” He even inspired members of the Kennedy family political dynasty to support him. His candidacy is the result of his power to inspire.

Inspirational power takes many forms and involves all areas

of life, not just the political realm. In 1753, Jacques-Louis David painted The Oath of the Horatii. The picture depicts three Roman soldiers with arms outstretched toward swords, and against the backdrop of sorrowing families. Painted in a time before telecommunications, the picture’s style and theme had a powerful impact on those who viewed it. It not only altered perceptions of art and set a new direction in regard to the prevailing style of painting, but it also stirred feelings of duty, honor, and patriotism in many French citizens, moving them to see the need for positive changes in their society.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the art form of film was influenced by Australian director Peter Jackson. His passion for capturing the themes and characters of J. R. R.

Tolkien’s best-selling trilogy The Lord of the Rings inspired a film executive to stake the continued existence of his movie studio on the success of Jackson’s three Rings films, which would be shot one right after the other. This was an

unprecedented move, since most studios wait to see if one film is successful before bankrolling another. Jackson’s vision, creativity, and attention to detail in making the films inspired the cast and crew, as well as enthusiastic movie audiences and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Academy awarded eleven Oscars to the third film, placing the movie a three-way tie for the most Oscars ever given to a single film. All three Rings movies are among the most successful films ever made.

Inspiration versus Manipulation

Inspiration is the most important force in leadership, not only because it motivates, but also because it protects the leader from the temptation to manipulate others. Again, would-be leaders who cannot inspire others often resort to

manipulation. Whenever you manipulate people, you are no longer a true leader—you have become a dictator. Inspiration is the currency of exchange between the leader and those who join in his vision. Once you inspire people, they give you their energies. You don’t need to manipulate, coerce, or bribe anyone.

If leaders are to share their vision and inspiration with others, they must learn to communicate effectively with people.

As we saw in the account of Jesus teaching His disciples about His vision for the Samaritans, people sometimes need to be brought into a receptive frame of mind in order to be open to a leader’s inspiration. A good leader discovers and refines his own communication style and endeavors to understand the mind-set and needs of his audience. An indispensable asset to a leader in this regard is a sense of humor and the ability to laugh at himself. Humor helps a leader to maintain a proper perspective in life and to reach out to others. With a healthy sense of humor, leaders can transform tense situations into positive environments and create an atmosphere of understanding.

In 1974, I went to preach in a little town right outside Tulsa, Oklahoma. It seemed like I was the only black man in town.

They didn’t see black people in that area very often, and the only thing they really knew about blacks was that they were

once slaves. I was invited there by a professor who wanted me to preach in a church. When I stood up, all I saw were white faces. They had come to see this young man from Oral Roberts University, and then they realized, He’s black. I could feel the tension. Perhaps they thought that only white people went to Oral Roberts, and then the school sent me.

As I stood there with all those beautiful faces looking at me, I could tell that they didn’t know what to do. They were nervous. So I said, “Do you all know how I feel? I feel like a raisin in a bowl of cornflakes.” They laughed and they laughed until they couldn’t laugh anymore. When they were finished, I started to preach and everything was all right. When I was through preaching, about sixteen people came forward to give their hearts to God. I was invited back to that church three times to preach, and they invited members from all the other local churches to come hear me. It was exciting.

You must have the ability to laugh at yourself. This is very important. Some people are too hard on themselves. Have you ever slipped and fallen in front of people? What should you do in that circumstance? Get up and laugh with them and say,

“Did you see what I just did? Isn’t that funny? I just fell down.” Laugh, because if it had been somebody else, you would have laughed.

“A happy heart makes the face cheerful” (Proverbs 15:13).

“All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast” (Proverbs 15:15). “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones”

(Proverbs 17:22). Why do you take medicine? To get well when you’re sick. A leader can go to someone who is depressed and downhearted and lift him out of his discouragement with a smile and some humor. It’s rare for you to smile and not get one in return. A smile is something that you can’t buy; you can’t bribe someone for it. It is a gift we give each other. The spirit of a leader is cheerful, pleasant, optimistic, positive, and open.

Leadership Is Contagious Inspiration Leadership can be summarized as contagious inspiration.

After a vision is ignited in the heart of the leader and catches on in the hearts of others, it begins to be carried along by the energy and momentum of people who envision the possibilities of a better future, a more effective product, a new cure, a more enriching environment, a life-changing perspective, or a renewed life.

What is your vision? Does it inspire you in your life, work, and relationships? Are you ready to share it with others?

Chapter Seven