When we look at successful people, we’re often tempted to see luck – not the years of hard work they’ve put in
When we look at the people we consider to be the top leaders in areas as diverse as business, sports, Hollywood, and government, we tend to only see the end result. We think to ourselves, “Wow, that person is really lucky to be a professional athlete, a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, or a world leader!” We see all of the money and fame they are getting and assume that they won some sort of lottery. What we don't see are the years of hard work and determination that likely led them to where they are today.
I think we are prone to this way of thinking in the mortgage industry as well. We see the people who are doing really well in the industry, and we tend to get a little envious. We think that being in such a great position in the industry means necessarily that those people got lucky. It's more likely, however, that they worked really hard for a really long time before getting where they are. Leadership doesn't happen on accident. It takes deliberate, thoughtful commitment day after day to become the kind of leader worth following.
And yet, so many people I've come across over the years have not been very purposeful in their choices. They simply stumble through life, making decisions on the fly and hoping for the best. The question is, how can we expect people to follow us if we don't even know where we're going? "If the blind lead the blind," Jesus is famous for saying, "both will fall into a pit." Do you want to rise to the top of the mountain, or do you want to fall into a pit? You may not have all the details worked out but, if you really want to be the kind of leader your people deserve, you'll be pushing yourself in that direction. True leadership happens on purpose.
