What do you think of when you hear the word commitment?
Perhaps you picture a loving husband caring for his invalid wife. Maybe you envision a business owner who puts her resources and reputation on the line to lead her company through a crisis.
Perhaps you see a dedicated teacher who spends hours of his own time tutoring underprivileged children. Or maybe the scene that comes to mind is one of a group of soldiers who willingly enters harm’s way to protect their countrymen.
These are all wonderful examples of commitment. But have you considered the fact that individuals who act in less admirable ways also are committed? People who watch the clock at work are committed to making it through the day so they can go home.
People who spend most of their free time in front of the television are committed to taking life easy. People who cheat on their income taxes are committed to beating the system.
Do you understand what I’m saying? When it comes to living a life of significance, the vital question isn’t, “Am I committed?” It’s, “What am I committed to?”
Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to observe many remarkable individuals who I refer to as “make-a-difference people”—the kind of folks you want on your team and in your life because they’re constantly making positive things happen.
“Make-a-difference” people stand out from everyone else because they are connected—to a great leader, to a powerful vision and to other people who want to make a difference.
Another critical factor that sets “make-a-difference people” apart is their deep level of commitment in four key areas:
1. Make-a-difference people are committed to excellence.
Conforming to someone else’s standard of excellence isn’t an option; they set their own bar, and they set it high. If you want to be a difference-maker, your bar of excellence should be higher than anyone else’s. In other words, you should expect more out of yourself than anyone else expects out of you.
2. Make-a-difference people are committed to service.
George Burns once said, “When you stop giving and offering something to the rest of the world, it’s time to turn out the lights.” That is so true. Anyone can call himself a servant-leader, but that description is meaningless unless it’s accompanied by action. True servanthood manifests itself in the following four ways:
- It puts others ahead of an individual agenda. True servants aren’t in it for themselves; they’re committed to the growth and well-being of the people they’re serving.
- It begins with security. Service often takes us out of our comfort zone, and in order to function effectively in such unfamiliar territory, confidence is a necessity.
- It initiates service to others. It doesn’t wait to be served. It doesn’t wait to be asked to serve. It goes first.
- It is not position-conscious. You show me a person who serves, and I’ll show you someone who cares little about titles.
3. Make-a-difference people are committed to growth.
I have found that there are three types of people on earth: the unlearned, the learned and the learning. If you want to make a positive contribution with your life, never stop stretching and growing. Make a concerted effort to learn today what will help you do better tomorrow. If you grow in the right areas today, you’ll reap the right rewards tomorrow.
4. Make-a-difference people are committed to giving.
The reason for this is simple: Giving is the highest level of living. Here are four ways to develop a giving spirit in your life:
- Be grateful for whatever you have. It’s hard to be generous when you always want more for yourself.
- Put people first. The measure of a leader is not the number of people who serve him, but the number of people whom he serves.
- Don’t allow the desire for possessions to control you. This is so critical. Do you control your money, or does your money control you?
- Develop the habit of giving. Author Richard Foster made a profound statement about this: “Just the very act of letting go of money or some other treasure does something within us,” he said. “It destroys the demon greed.”
Now that I’ve described the characteristics that set make-a-difference people apart, it’s time to get personal. Do you want to make a difference in your business, your community, your family or any other area of life that is important you?
If your answer is yes, I have one more question for you. Are you making a difference—wherever you are, whatever you’re doing?
I certainly hope so.
But if not, don’t get discouraged. Instead, as I said last time, get busy. There’s no time like the present to become a make-a-difference person.
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John Maxwell grew up in the 1950s in the small Midwestern city of Circleville, Ohio. John's earliest childhood memory is of knowing that he would someday be a pastor. He professed faith in Christ at the age of three, and reaffirmed that commitment when he was 13. At age 17, John began preparing for the ministry. He attended Circleville Bible College, earning his bachelor's degree in 1969. In June of that same year, he married his sweetheart, Margaret, and moved to tiny Hillham, Indiana, where he began his first pastorate.
While serving in his second church, Maxwell began to study the correlation between leadership effectiveness and ministry effectiveness. On July 4, 1976, while preaching at a service commemorating America's bicentennial, John sensed that God was calling him into a ministry to pastors. Within days after that event, pastors began to contact him, asking for his assistance in nurturing their churches. Over the next four years, on an informal basis, John helped scores of fellow pastors. Then, in 1980, he was asked to become Executive Director of Evangelism for the Wesleyan denomination.
Though his time at Wesleyan headquarters was productive, John soon realized that his deeper desire was to help pastors from numerous denominations. He knew that desire would be unfulfilled if he were to stay at denominational headquarters. As a result, in 1981 John accepted the call to return to the pastorate, this time at Skyline Wesleyan Church in the San Diego, California area. But he did so with the church's blessing to pursue his vision. The Skyline congregation allowed him to continue mentoring and assisting pastors even as he led them to new levels.
In 1985, as he continued to equip and encourage other pastors, John took the next crucial step in leadership development. He founded a new company called INJOY and created the INJOY Life Club, featuring a monthly tape for leaders. The fledging operation, established in the corner of a garage, was soon bursting at the seams. The INJOY Life Club tapes were received with great enthusiasm, and the number of subscriptions quickly increased from hundreds to thousands. Simultaneously, the demand for other resources and seminars exploded. Pastors from coast to coast were responding, and their desire for help was even greater than John had anticipated.
As the years passed, INJOY began demanding more and more of John's time. In 1995, he resigned from his position as senior pastor at Skyline following a very fruitful 14-year tenure. The church had tripled in size and its lay ministry involvement had increased ten-fold. Dr. Maxwell is in great demand today as a speaker. Through his bestselling books, audio and video resources, and major conferences, he communicates directly with more than one million people every year. He is frequently asked to speak for organizations such as Promise Keepers and Focus on the Family, but his greatest joy and desire is to help pastors become better leaders.
Because the need for leadership development knows no borders, John established EQUIP, a non-profit organization which trains leaders in urban communities, academic institutions, and within international organizations. EQUIP is also spearheading a movement which has enlisted more than one million pastoral prayer partners who covenant to pray specifically for those who shepherd God's flock.
John continues to seek new opportunities to help churches and church leaders. He knows that one thing is constant: the only hope for the world is salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ, who gives life abundantly.