Characters of a Leader: Never Quit Attitude

You can't fail until you quit -Russel Simmons

It's that time of the year! For me it's working with with seniors who have checked out! Students who can sense summer is around the corner and in sight! I must admit, this time of the year is hard for teachers too. We also sense summer around the corner. For nine months we have prepared and poured ourselves out to our students. A fresh of breath air is just on the horizon! As an owner of a business you have just entered the last quarter! Now is the time to not quit! This is always hard to do. We are tired. Numbers are off or numbers are right on! The tendency to cruise through this stage is a temptation that always falls short!

Whether it be a leader in the Bible or in life there is always one characteristic that fans the flame of success....the never quit attitude. I believe there are three areas that feed this attitude.

1. The Call
The Call is the belief that there is something greater than self. The belief that God has placed you in this time in history for a purpose. There are times at the end of the day when I sit back and wonder why? Why teach? Then I am reminded when a parent brings to my attention that they have witnessed their child use the apologetic tools taught in class with peers. Or the student who comes back from college and shares how they are confident to share their faith when it is challenged! As an entrepreneur, it is the call of knowing that God is going to use me in some way to impact the business world. The wealth acquired, will be used to be a blessing to my family and to impact the world for His glory! It's what keeps me writing these articles. It is the reason for Irrevocable Call. Knowing that one day it will flourish to an outreach that will impact thousands! I am blown away that someone in China has connected to Irrevocable Call! Here is a communist country whose worldview has driven Christians to form underground churches, yet someone got connected to Irrevocable Call! It is the call that pushes us to our greatness! Your call is the platform on which God has placed you to impact those around you!

I am currently reading through Jeremiah. Here was a young man (late teens, early twenties) who was called of God to bring a warning to his people, who had broken their covenant with God. For forty years he prophesied to the people. He brought forth a word of warning, destruction, and compassion from God. What kept Jeremiah going, even when he wanted to give up (Jeremiah 12)? It was his call.

Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth." But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a youth'; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD." Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, "Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow,to build and to plant." Jeremiah 1:4-10

What a difference it makes when knowing that God has your back!

2. The Fight!
I know our culture has a tendency to "talk things out". Believe me there are times to "talk things out", but there are times that require a "fight". I personally believe that this attitude of "talk things out" has created a generation with no backbone who want to be told what to do. C.S. Lewis put it this way, "The rule of the universe is that others can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, and one can paddle every canoe except one's own." I am talking about the "fight" that goes through fear. Doubt. Set backs. I have seen a generation that when the tough gets going they cower. They blame others. A never quit attitude says, "No matter what comes my way I will fight to the very end because I KNOW I HAVE BEEN CALLED TO GREATNESS! I will take the responsibility and press on knowing that God has given me the ability to accomplish the task!" A leader is one who fights off the obstacles that say "I can't."

Jeremiah had to learn to fight through doubt and fear. Here was a man who was made fun of. Threatened with death. Dealt with depression. Thrown into prison. Yet in his forty years of answering his call, he pressed forward! He remembered the words given to him by God...

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you!
I consecrated you!
I appointed you!
I am with you!
I have put my words in your mouth!

3. The Gratification
Some may say this is selfish. Gratification comes in two ways. The gratification that is about me, is selfish and cocky. The other is when a true leader gets gratification by executing a plan that effectively impacts other lives! I believe this to be the tip of the award we receive from God! I love it when a plan comes together! This past week my girls soccer team had their community outreach...Pink Power Night! It is a night where we raise awareness for cancer. All the gate money for the match goes to the Mary Kay Foundation for Cancer Research. This outreach started last season. I brought the idea to the girls and we went from there! We died our old white uniforms pink. We made fliers. The girls bought t-shirts to be worn on game days that said, "Fight Cancer". With less than hundred people, we raised $250. I will admit I was disappointed. This idea was seeing thousands being raised! But what I have learned, is that there is always God's timing. Just because I did not see the "thousands" in the first year, does not mean it will happen in the future. This year over a hundred people attended! We had three sponsors for the event! There were more cancer survivors introduced! And we raised $500!!!! This past year I asked God for double the amount. He answered! Guess what I am asking God for next year? The success of the event is the gratification I receive that keeps me going. I can't wait for next year!

Gratification contributes to the never quit attitude by allowing our God given gifts to be put to use! Jeremiah ends his words with a letter that is to be read to the Israelites while in captivity. It was a letter of hope and the restoration of Israel. The letter included God's words of destruction against the enemies that brought suffering to the Hebrews. For forty years Jeremiah gave of himself. He had seen what God had done through his life. And even though he may have not seen the results of his ministry, the gratification of knowing that God would keep his word with his beloved countrymen was enough to keep him going.

So as you enter the last stretch of the course, have a never quit attitude!!! May you be blessed by Nick Vujicic's testimony!



His call. His gift to you. Your purpose. Irrevocable.

To check out the Big Valley Christian High Lady Lions Pink Power Night check out the following links!

The Mary Kay Foundation: http://www.marykayfoundation.org/Pages/EventHighlightDetail.aspx?eventNo=5
Lady Lions Website: http://ladylionsroar.yolasite.com/pink-riot.php