This Make It Happen Moment ®  was written as a guest post for the 10 Day Book Club writers blog.

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Quote: “The person who does not read good books has no advantage over the person who cannot read them!” – Mark Twain

As a young leader growing in the field of financial management, I thought I was doing well with an MBA, a Finance degree, and a CPA…that is…until I was given a real leadership responsibility for a team of people and quickly realized that I needed to learn some things about leading people.  In all of my formal college education and training, I learned a lot about financial management, but unfortunately, as a new leader of people, I learned that my education was significantly lacking in the practical areas of leadership. So I went on a personal quest to learn how to become a great leader and discovered that a wonderful leadership education was available to me by simply reading books written by great leaders.  Furthermore, because I learned from Stephen Covey that a person learns 95 percent of what they teach, I also began a leadership development book club called The Make It Happen Leadership Development College to begin to help teach other leaders how to become great leaders as well. With my little after-hours leadership development book club and the simple concept that “leaders are readers”, my team leaders and I began to grow each month as servant leaders of an extraordinary team of “Make It Happen” people. And the best part is: I believe that you and your team leaders can do the same thing if you carefully choose great leadership books and read them together!

Now that I am a pastor and a faith-based writer of leadership development books, I also believe that the words we read as leaders have a powerful influence on the direction and outcome of our personal and professional lives. In fact, the Bible says in Psalms 119:105 that “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” which clearly indicates that God’s word can and will direct our lives if we choose to read His word.  Furthermore, if the words of God can direct our lives when we read it, other words we read can also influence our lives as we allow those words to have access into our mind and our thought patterns. 

To fully understand how powerful the words we read can be in our lives, it is essential for people to understand the Life Cycle Of Words. Further explained:

  • Words create Thoughts
  • Thoughts produce Feelings.
  • Feelings inspire Choices.
  • Choices generate Actions
  • Actions determine Habits
  • Habits develop Character
  • Character fulfills Destiny
  • Destiny breeds Legacy

And legacy is the life you leave behind when you are no longer alive on earth.  Simply put, the Life Cycle Of Words demonstrates that the power of life, destiny, and legacy is actually in the power of the words we read, think, write, and speak on a daily basis. Wow! With a spirit of wisdom and commitment, may you and I become outstanding leaders whom leave a powerful lasting legacy by carefully choosing the words we read, think, write, and speak each day.

The Make It Happen Training And Development Value: “Make It Happen” People Invest And Participate In Training And Development!

Have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

The Make It Happen Moment ® Leaders Are Readers Copyright 2012, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint The Make It Happen Moment ® Leaders Are Readers, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

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