Are you a leader? Sure you are. We are all leaders in some way or another; whether it’s at home, at work, at church, or in the community. You may be the head of your household, hired or elected or perhaps even a self appointed leader. You can even be leading others and not know it.
As a leader, do invoke fear or gain respect?
Fear is not of God. We should not fear nor seek to be feared. Jesus, during is time here on earth didn’t walk around preaching and invoking fear in others. Conversely, he was kind and gentle, stood firm in the face of adversity and even respected those who do blatantly disrespected Him. Jesus first respected and gained an immeasurable amount of respect, love and admiration.
If you desire to be respected, you must first respect others.
In my 36 years of living, there's one thing I know for sure. The mark of a true leader is respect. Not the respect that they get. They respect that they give. Respect of others and their individuality. Respect of their differences. Respect of everyone's God given uniqueness.
True leaders do not bully, lie, or invoke fear in others. They don’t manipulate situations for their personal gain. I have worked in the corporate world and in ministry. I have worked under and have the pleasure of knowing leaders who first respected others and in turn were respected. I have also worked under and have the pleasure of knowing leaders who will do anything to get ahead and command respect.
Remember, there are two types of leaders; those that respect others and those who invoke fear in others. Which type of leader are you? I am so blessed and so thankful to have been under both types. Why, because I now know how NOT to treat others.
Respectfully,
~Sonja
Monday, March 9, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Haters by Maya Angelou
A hater is someone who is jealous and envious and spends all their time trying to make you look small so they can look tall. They are very negative people to say the least. Nothing is ever good enough!
When you make your mark, you will always attract some haters...
That's why you have to be careful with whom you share your blessings and your dreams, because some folk can't handle seeing you blessed... It's dangerous to be like somebody else... If God wanted you to be like somebody else, He would have given you what He gave them! Right? You never know what people have gone through to get what they have...
The problem I have with haters is that they see my glory, but they don't know my story... If the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, you can rest assured that the water bill is higher there too! We've all got some haters among us!
Some people envy you because you can:
a) Have a relationship with God
b) Light up a room when you walk in
c) Start your own business
d) Tell a man / woman to hit the curb (if he / she isn't about the right thing)
e) Raise your children without both parents being in the home
Haters can't stand to see you happy. Haters will never want to see you succeed. Most of our haters are people who are supposed to be on our side. How do you handle your undercover haters?
You can handle these haters by:
1. Knowing who you are & who your true friends are (VERY IMPORTANT!!)
2. Having a purpose to your life: Purpose does not mean having a job. You can have a job and still be unfulfilled. A purpose is having a clear sense of what God has called you to be. Your purpose is not defined by what others think about you.
3. By remembering what you have is by divine prerogative and not human manipulation.
Fulfill your dreams! You only have one life to live.....when it’s your time to leave this earth, you 'want' to be able to say, “I've lived my life and fulfilled my dreams... Now I'm ready to go HOME!”
When God gives you favor, you can tell your haters, “Don 't look at me...Look at Who is in charge of me...”
Loving not hating,
~Sonja
When you make your mark, you will always attract some haters...
That's why you have to be careful with whom you share your blessings and your dreams, because some folk can't handle seeing you blessed... It's dangerous to be like somebody else... If God wanted you to be like somebody else, He would have given you what He gave them! Right? You never know what people have gone through to get what they have...
The problem I have with haters is that they see my glory, but they don't know my story... If the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, you can rest assured that the water bill is higher there too! We've all got some haters among us!
Some people envy you because you can:
a) Have a relationship with God
b) Light up a room when you walk in
c) Start your own business
d) Tell a man / woman to hit the curb (if he / she isn't about the right thing)
e) Raise your children without both parents being in the home
Haters can't stand to see you happy. Haters will never want to see you succeed. Most of our haters are people who are supposed to be on our side. How do you handle your undercover haters?
You can handle these haters by:
1. Knowing who you are & who your true friends are (VERY IMPORTANT!!)
2. Having a purpose to your life: Purpose does not mean having a job. You can have a job and still be unfulfilled. A purpose is having a clear sense of what God has called you to be. Your purpose is not defined by what others think about you.
3. By remembering what you have is by divine prerogative and not human manipulation.
Fulfill your dreams! You only have one life to live.....when it’s your time to leave this earth, you 'want' to be able to say, “I've lived my life and fulfilled my dreams... Now I'm ready to go HOME!”
When God gives you favor, you can tell your haters, “Don 't look at me...Look at Who is in charge of me...”
Loving not hating,
~Sonja
Monday, March 2, 2009
The way we should live...
People are illogical, unreasonable and self centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you’re successful, you’ll win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you help them.
Help them anyway.
Give the world the best and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world your best anyway.
Living,
~Sonja
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you’re successful, you’ll win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you help them.
Help them anyway.
Give the world the best and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world your best anyway.
Living,
~Sonja
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
