LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Maya Angelou

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

We're going to explore this word INFLUENCE over the next number of weeks. I'm hosting a Global Leadership Summit in Georgia in March with Leader Mundial, and the theme this year is The Influence of a Leader. While we have a number of topics, books and presentations to address this, I wanted to simply look at some quotes that explore this more.

This quote from Maya Angelou is so powerful. As we talk about influence for a couple more weeks, we're reminded that the way we treat people shapes our influence.

One of my favorite books from last year is the book Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara.(Thanks Eric for introducing it to me). Really impactful because the entire book is really about this quote.

How people are taken care of, how customers feel, how memories are made, how people are valued, how generosity impacts people.

While the book is written from the perspective of a restaurant, it's applicable to us all in any industry.

I've shared this before, but it's worth sharing again.

Years ago, as a young youth ministry couple with small kids and no money, we were invited to a couples retreat in Santa Barbara. We had to pay a little bit of money, but were told it would be a great "break". When we arrived, we were treated like royalty. There was a gift bag for us, the hotel we were in was right on the beach and was nice. We were welcomed warmly, and then they shared that the purpose of our time was to simply catch our breath and build some meaningful relationships. The 3 days were filled with great food and worship, time as a couple enjoying the beach and the area, and zero expectations. We were celebrated for the work we were doing with young people, and we were filled up.

The last evening, we were taken to a special dinner with the President of Westmont College where he thanked us personally for our impact into youth ministry and he shared about how Westmont College cares about youth pastors, and that this retreat was a gift of appreciation from them.

That was it. No sales pitch, no bait and switch, no expectations.

Just appreciation.

Can I tell you how many people I've encouraged to check out Westmont College over the past 35 years as a result of their "hospitality" in our lives?

Their genuine care for us at a time that mattered still sticks with us today.

Hospitality & Influence.

Think of a time when someone invested into your life and made you"feel" something?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing." Albert Schweitzer

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

We're going to explore this word INFLUENCE over the next number of weeks. I'm hosting a Global Leadership Summit in Georgia in March with Leader Mundial, and the theme this year is The Influence of a Leader. While we have a number of topics, books and presentations to address this, I wanted to simply look at some quotes that explore this more.

When I read this quote, I'm reminded of another quote from a hero of mine, Jim Burns. He said this often when he was training me as a young youth pastor: "People won't remember what you say, but they will remember what you do."

He then went on to ask this question:

Name 10 of the greatest sermons you've ever heard: who preached it, what was it on... we always struggled with that question, and even though my dad was a pastor, I had to dig deep to identify 10 messages that I could remember. (Sorry Dad!)

He then asked this question:

Name 10 people who impacted your life: name them, how did they make you feel? 10 people were easy, and once I got thinking, I could keep going and going.

That's this quote. EXAMPLE is the only thing

We LISTEN to people all the time. We capture their message, we hear their words, we ponder their presentation.

We also WATCH people all the time. We watch close up and from a distance, we watch what is done and what's not done, we watch peoples reactions.

Bill Jones was a family friend who influenced my life in many ways. But in writing this, I remember how he taught me how to pull a water skier behind a boat. I was living with his family in Northern California, and they had a Boat House on Lake Shasta. We would head to the lake just about everyday after work, and it was some of the best skiing I've ever done.

Bill was the one who taught others to ski, who drove the boat, and who made everything happen, but often, he didn't get to ski because he didn't trust anyone to pull him the right way. Then I came along. He had me watch him drive the boat for weeks pulling skiers, then he had me take the boat out on my own just to get comfortable. He talked me through speeds, wind and the boats capabilities, and he then let me "practice" on his kids (what a great dad!) I did fine.

Then one day, he stopped the boat in the middle of the lake and jumped in. He said to me, "you're ready... Hit it!". I then became his personal driver, and spent the rest of that summer pulling people around Lake Shasta, and giving Bill some great time on the water.

That's example, and years later when we had our own ski boat, those lessons kept with me, and I passed them on to many other people.

"Things are CAUGHT not TAUGHT".

Bill led by example and modeled for me not only how to drive a ski boat, but how to live life fully.

Who has lived an EXAMPLE in front of your life, teaching you and molding you into who you are today?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples." Mother Teresa

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

We're going to explore this word INFLUENCE over the next number of weeks. I'm hosting a Global Leadership Summit in Georgia in March with Leader Mundial, and the theme this year is The Influence of a Leader. While we have a number of topics, books and presentations to address this, I wanted to simply look at some quotes that explore this more.

This quote from Mother Teresa is a powerful reminder of the importance of INFLUENCE. We've been exploring this topic over the past couple of weeks and you can see the previous posts HERE.

When I reflect on the work and life of Mother Teresa, a word that just comes up over and over again is that she CONSISTENTLY served others over her 87 years of life, and her impact and influence is impossible to measure.

The idea of a "Ripple Effect" simply reminds us that sometimes our influence continues to spread and expand, even after we're gone.

This past weekend, Gina and I attended the funeral of our good friend, Ellis. Ellis and his wife Frankie were friends of ours for over 25 years. We were introduced to them when we stopped in to visit the church Ellis was pastoring, and one simple conversation led to a long-term relationship, and we have been deeply impacted by their lives and their love.

As we sat in the Celebration of Life service the other day, I was overwhelmed by the number of people in the room who's only connection was Ellis. There was evidence of his "ripple" in all of our lives, but in many different ways. He consistently influenced people from all walks of life, in different ways, from all over the world, and he did this for years and years.

What a celebration of life!

What is your "Ripple Effect"? How does your influence continue to spread and impact people, even when they are far away from you?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"In order to have influence, you have to be influenced." Stephen R. Covey

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

We're going to explore this word INFLUENCE over the next number of weeks. I'm hosting a Global Leadership Summit in Georgia in March with Leader Mundial, and the theme this year is The Influence of a Leader. While we have a number of topics, books and presentations to address this, I wanted to simply look at some quotes that explore this more.

I've always appreciated the leadership principles from Stephen Covey, so when I saw this quote from him last week, I pondered it for a little bit. I think Covey's basic idea is that "to influence, you have to be influenceable."

We have all been influenced by somebody, whether we admit it or not. I believe there's a point in our lives where we open ourselves up to others, instead of insisting to do it all on our own.

Throughout my life, there are times when I sought out others advice and wisdom, and there have been times when I've relied on my own knowledge and abilities.

Here's what I've learned over the years:

There are times that I am completely capable to do things on my own, simply relying on my experience, my strengths and my own abilities.

However, when I bring others into the conversation, into the mix, I do better, the thing I'm working on is better and that leads to greater success or impact.

I think it's easy to believe the lie that says when you rely on other people, you're not capable! This isn't true.

When we rely on others, we're stronger, we're better and we accomplish more.

I go back to this story of my 21 year-old self in my first job as a Youth Pastor. I "believed" that I had to do everything, even though I had volunteer staff that wanted to serve with me and help me. I carried the load, I tried to do it all on my own, and I was an utter failure. My Youth Group shrunk because I couldn't keep up, yet I had all these people standing on the sidelines wanting to help.

Once I began to learn that lesson, things changed. These leaders impacted me, they taught me, they helped me, they supported me, they made me better.

I don't think it was an ego thing, but it was an ignorance thing.

I needed other people speaking into my life then, and I still need them now. This is where my influence comes from.... The wisdom of others!

Think of a time you chose to NOT listen to someone else or to NOT rely on someone else? What was the result? Did you learn anything from that experience?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority." Ken Blanchard

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

We're going to explore this word INFLUENCE over the next number of weeks. I'm hosting a Global Leadership Summit in Georgia in March with Leader Mundial, and the theme this year is The Influence of a Leader. While we have a number of topics, books and presentations to address this, I wanted to simply look at some quotes that explore this more.

Look at these 2 words that are both connected to leadership:

AUTHORITY - INFLUENCE

AUTHORITY: Power is given by position

Authority is the formal right to make decisions, give orders and expect compliance. It comes from a role, title, or a structure.

INFLUENCE: Power is earned through relationship

Influence is the ability to shape someone's thinking, behavior, or decisions without forcing them. It is relational, not positional.

Think about different people in your life who have been in leadership above you. Did they use AUTHORITY for their power, or INFLUENCE?

• I remember a baseball coach, early in my little league career, say, "I am the coach! You have to listen to me!" That's AUTHORITY.

• I remember a boss in college say to me, "Russ, what do you think would be the best decision to make? That's INFLUENCE.

• I remember when I had to fire someone that reported to me early in my career... I tried the influence route, and that didn't work, so I pulled the authority card and fired him because of insubordination.

In leadership, there are times where we need to use both kinds of leadership, and both are important, however I think it's much more important to emphasize INFLUENCE over AUTHORITY, in fact if you lead from a position of influence, you won't need to rely on authority because of the trust that has been built through relationship.

Look at this:

• Authority can make people obey. Influence makes people believe.

• Authority works when you're present. Influence works even when you're absent.

• Authority makes you the leader on paper. Influence makes you the leader in reality.

• Authority changes behavior temporarily. Influence changes hearts and minds long-term.

What kind of leader do you want to be? Where does your power come from: AUTHORITY or INFLUENCE?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"The true measure of leadership is INFLUENCE - nothing more, nothing less." John C. Maxwell

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

We're going to explore this word INFLUENCE over the next number of weeks. I'm hosting a Global Leadership Summit in Georgia in March with Leader Mundial, and the theme this year is The Influence of a Leader. While we have a number of topics, books and presentations to address this, I wanted to simply look at some quotes that explore this more.

A definition of Influence is simply this: "The capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something."

Basically to "shape" something.

Here's a story of influence. I've shared this in the past, but it's such a good story, I want to tell it again.

When I was in High School, my dad was a pastor. He hired me as the church janitor, and my job was to clean the church during the week, and get it ready for Sunday Services. I usually spent a few hours on Saturday cleaning, then I showed up early on Sunday to dust and to make sure things were set for the day.

My dad showed me what he wanted done, and being a teenager, I looked for ways to do the minimum required and keep my job. Sometimes I didn't vacuum all the floor, or I wouldn't empty out all the trash cans. I remember trying to just get through it as quickly as I could, and sometimes I didn't really care about the quality.

My dad would point things out to me, and he'd remind me what I had committed to do.

But then, on Sunday Morning, if something wasn't done right, he would just do it. He'd dust the piano that I hadn't cleaned. He'd empty out the trash, or line the chairs up the way he wanted them to be.

He just did it. And I watched him.

Soon I realized that this job that I had was important. My dad really cared about what the sanctuary was like on Sunday Morning, and while he was the Pastor, he cared about the little things like picking up leaves and trash that blew into the entrance way overnight.

I watched him do it, and then I began to do it. I didn't want him doing my job, so I tried to do it better.

His simple attention to detail taught me something, and challenged me.

Here's the funny thing: Today, when I'm hosting an event, I pay attention to the little things, in fact I obsess about them. If something isn't right, I fix it. If there's paper on the floor, I pick it up. I care what things look and feel like.

Guess where I learned that. From my dad.

There was some teaching, but there was a lot of just "showing me" what was important.

This is influence. He shaped the way I worked and the way I think about preparing a room for something important.

WHO has influenced you in some way, large or small? WHO taught you or modeled for you something that has become important to you?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Reset, Refocus, Readjust, Restart, as many times as you need to. Just never give up." Unknown

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

It's a New Year, and this month we're going to talk about the word BEGINNINGS.

Here's one last thought on BEGINNINGS. You can read the other posts and quotes HERE.

This past week I had the opportunity to travel to connect with a ministry and a group of ministry leaders. We had a great time doing a "deep dive" into understanding the scope of ministry and identifying some of their key issues.

While it was a full week of engagement, it also offered me some "windows of time" that have been a little illusive over the past month. I sat for hours on a plane, spent time in the airport, had some time driving and then in a hotel.

In the midst of a full week, I kept finding these opportunities to think, to listen, to wonder and to just be.

This year has started with a BOOM! It's now February, and I have no idea where January went, and today I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by the items on my list... in fact, I've felt this way since the beginning of January. I'm having a hard time keeping up and keeping focused.

This quote above just spoke to me last week.... RESET, REFOCUS, READJUST, RESTART. Powerful words. And then the kicker... NEVER GIVE UP!

I don't know where you find yourself today. Are you disappointed in the start of 2026? Did you have big goals and you now realize those things were unrealistic? Do you find yourself drowning in all of the things you thought were going to be great, but now just feel like work! Did you think you were going to get more done, but now you're frustrated and you just want to throw it all out the window?

If you identify with any of those things, You're Not Alone!

TODAY, take a deep breath. Just slow down for a second and assess where you're at todoy, and determine what your next step needs to be.

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Don't be afraid to start over. This time you're not starting from scratch, you're starting from experience." Unknown

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

It's a New Year, and this month we're going to talk about the word BEGINNINGS. We have a couple more...

I want to camp out on these words: Don't Be Afraid.

Many of us never start something new because of FEAR.

Fear defined is simply, "an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat." Other words that come up in the definition are "anxiety, dread, & reverence".

I think in my life, I've had a number of moments where FEAR has kept me from moving forward, or it's slowed me down.

I remember my junior year of high school, making the decision to run for Student Council President. I don't know why I wanted to do that. I was already a leader in the band and on my basketball team, but there was something about this Student Government role that I was interested in, but I didn't just pursue it.... I paused, I wrestled with it, I hesitated, I talked it through. Looking back, it was FEAR that was slowing me down. Could I do this job? Would people vote for me? What would happen if I didn't win?

I still remember that anxious feeling of stepping into something completely new and being out of my comfort zone. I don't know what got me over the hump, but I eventually decided to make a run and I launched a campaign and was elected.

I really enjoyed that role during my Senior Year of High School, and I learned a lot from our faculty sponsor, Randy, as well as from the others I served with. I enjoyed it so much that when given the chance to run for office in college, I again ran a successful campaign to be President, but this time, there was no fear.

The Bible uses that term "Do Not Be Afraid" almost 365 times in scripture. Jesus knows something about fear. He says things to us like:

• "Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid." Matthew 14:27

• "So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Matthew 10:31

• "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself." Matthew 6:34

Jesus knows that often our first response is FEAR and He's reminding us over and over again that WE'RE NOT ALONE. He is with us, He sees us, He knows us, He loves us.

Think of a time when you let FEAR keep you from doing something you felt you were supposed to do? Looking back, how does that look now? Do you have regret? How did you get past that?