Leadership is Inspiration

Real-life leadership is inspirational and more impactful than influence.?

You have heard it said that leadership is only an influence. Is this is true??

I can't help but share about my wife, Allie Stutson. She has dedicated the last two decades to our family. I was deployed to Iraq during my first year of college.

I remember praying to God one night in Baghdad, asking God to let me get home to get married to Allie. Immediately, a magnificent shooting star shot across the night. I journaled that moment and treasured it.

One year later, I came home inspired to get married. Allie has raised six of our children and dedicated our "leadership" to working on our inspiration more than our influence.

Today, she is on her way to becoming a real estate agent, and I am so proud of her and want to champion her impact on my life. Thank you to all the selfless moms who make us all better.

Why does this matter?

Leadership influence and ability often impact a person’s level of success. However, before influence or success is even possible, there has to be a beginning in a person’s life. All leaders must start without position, title, production, promotion, and influence. Before influence or external success, there must be inspiration. Without inspiration to influence or create, there would be nothing worth pursuing.?

Inspiration is the personal influence that determines a person’s level of impact in life. The lower an individual’s ability to inspire, the lower the effect on his impact and health on their influence. You can be an influential speaker, attract a large following, and lose your soul or ability to enjoy your life.

Put simply, platform-centered goals without inspiration are the root cause of burnout and boredom. People are attracted to successful, influential people but can relate to their struggles.?

Many people view leadership the same way they view success: the greater your influence, the greater your leadership. To promote to the top of the organizational pyramid- to achieve the highest results in your craft or to have the largest following or organization? However, platform-influenced thinking destroys real-life inspiration.?

Leadership is not just your influence. It’s how you live. It’s not just about how far we go but how far we can empower others to succeed.? That is achieved by inspiring others and adding value to their lives. The evidence reveals people who can discover this simple truth enjoy their pursuits and have healthy rhythms.?

To illustrate why leadership is inspiration before its influence, let me tell you a story about a man who discovered this later in life after achieving wealth and success.?

A Leader Discovers Inspiration?

Alfred Nobel was a successful businessman and known as the dynamite inventor.?

As the story goes, when Albert’s brother Ludvig died in France, the French newspaper mistakenly printed an obituary for Alfred instead of Ludvig. An obituary in one French paper stated, “The merchant of death is dead.”

Alfred was 55 at the time and was shocked to see himself described as “the merchant of death.”?

Alfred was an inventor with 355 patents, the most famous for dynamite. He was a successful leader who transformed his company, Bofors, from a small iron and steel producer to one of Europe's largest arms suppliers.

As a result, Alfred had the unusual inspirational experience of reading his obituary. To his shock, the piece's focal point was the destruction brought about by his invention. Alfred was devastated to think that was how he would be remembered. Although Alfred had influence and success, he needed to realize that inspiration.?

A New Life

People believe this incident and moment caused Alfred to set aside his wealth and estate to establish the Nobel Prize so that he would be remembered for peace, not destruction.

Alfred Nobel decided to rewrite his real-life inspiration. Secretly, he changed his will to leave his entire fortune to a foundation that would fund five Nobel Prizes: a Peace Prize, a Literary Prize, and three Science Prizes in physics, chemistry, and medicine.?

For Nobel, the desire for success and wealth was not as important as the newfound opportunity he discovered. Authentic leadership is inspiration before it’s the type of influence that matters.?

Dunamis is the Greek word for power. It originates from the English words dynamite, dynamo, and dynamic. This story is dynamic because if we learn this lesson, our leadership will be on the move.

Ask people you care about in your life. “Is this the way you would like to remember me?”

I had the pleasure of interviewing Bill Goldring about this topic. When I arrived at Bill Goldring’s office, I was amazed at how generous the building towered over all the others. The wall has historic paintings from famous battles in New Orleans to French and Spanish history, and there are towering ceilings with beautiful stately oak floors. The building is an icon in the region. A secretary greeted me by walking me to the conference room where Mr. Bill Goldring was working.

Bill is quite the statesman and commands a presence when he enters the room. He is friendly, humble, soft-spoken, and sharp. Bill asked me about my life and wanted to know what career I chose. At the time, I was working for Dr. Ken Blanchard and the Blanchard organization.

"I get the opportunity to help companies like yours become the provider, investment, and employer of choice." Bill and I discussed his leadership point of view and spent hours discussing his business and goals.

I was soaking every moment up. I asked Bill, “How did you select the right leaders to join your team?” as he was able to grow the Sazerac company to the behemoth level it is today.

Inspiration empowers ideas that represent both faith and facts.?

Being able to inspire others requires a leader to possess a worthy ambition. You’ve got to have faith that you can impact your life. If you can’t confidently envision change in your mind, you won’t be able to actualize it in real life. However, it would be best if you also saw the facts realistically. Like Alfred Nobel, who was inspired when he read about his influence, you should strive for ideas that balance faith and facts.

Balancing facts and faith is crucial to avoid either-or thinking. We might rely too much on faith, believing we live an inspired life, or rationalize our success solely based on facts. As Norman Vincent Peale famously said, “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! You cannot be successful or happy without a humble but reasonable confidence in your powers.” This balance between faith and facts ensures a grounded, impactful approach to real-life inspiration.?

The Definition Behind the Definition?

The word "inspiration" comes from the Greek word "theopneustos," which means "God-breathed" or "inspired by God." This definition suggests that inspiration is not merely a personal or spontaneous feeling but a profound spiritual empowerment.

Similarly, "charisma" derives from the Greek meaning “divinely inspired gift.” Charisma refers to the ability to act or work under divine influence, often manifested as exceptional leadership. Charisma is more than just influence or presence; it is the ability to connect with an audience, hold their attention, motivate them to respond, persuade others, establish credibility, and leave an impact with their influence.?

Leadership is a gift of charisma; I believe it is much more than ordinary influence. It's not about self-seeking and self-promotion but about servant leadership.?

Charisma and influence have long dominated, leading to more tremendous success when used effectively. Many of the world's most inspirational people view life as a gift, and their ability to inspire others is seen as a divine gift. This perception is rooted in the belief that exceptional qualities stem from a higher power rather than personal ambition or ability alone. Thus, showing charisma and inspiration is not just about success but about fulfilling an inspired purpose.?

Your life is not about your leadership, influence, org chart, followers, books, or success. It’s about one life inspiring another.

What Inspiration is not

People have many perceptions, ideas, and definitions of inspiration. They assume impressive ideas, motivations, emotions, success, or influence make someone an inspirational leader. While this is sometimes true, creativity, charisma, and success alone do not inspire you or others long-term.

Authentic inspiration cannot be awarded, appointed, or assigned; it comes solely from motives, which will be revealed over time when stress and success set in. Success and a title can only buy a little impact from your influence—to build your inspiration with others requires more than the external.

President Zelensky has been characterized by many, but one word seldom used to describe him is inspired. Yet that’s what he is. He is inspired to keep showing up.?

The world is different; we need inspiration for our lives and leadership, not just to grow our influence.

The Four Levels?

Imagine a model with four levels of inspiration, where Level 4 represents the highest degree of inspiration:

• Level 4 Inspiration: Your ability to persevere and overcome adversity is unparalleled at this highest level. You can achieve the most significant success and impact in your life and career.
• Level 3 Inspiration: With this level of inspiration, you are highly resilient, capable of facing substantial rejection and challenges, and maintaining considerable success in your career.
• Level 2 Inspiration: At this moderate level, your inspiration allows for steady resilience, enabling you to navigate through obstacles with a fair degree of success.
• Level 1 Inspiration: At the lowest level, your ability to persevere is limited, making it difficult to withstand significant adversity and restricting your overall success to other people’s opinions.

Your capacity to stay inspired—whether high or low—directly impacts your ability to overcome burnout and persist through challenges, ultimately determining the potential impact of your efforts.

See the article in the Harvard Business Review entitled, Beating Burnout by?Monique Valcour, to provide some data for my claims:

"Hard data on the prevalence of burnout is elusive since it’s not yet a clinical term separate from stress."

• Some researchers say that as few as 7% of professionals have been seriously impacted by burnout.
• But others have documented rates as high as 50% among medical residents and 85% among financial professionals.
• A 2013 ComPsych survey of more than 5,100 North American workers found that 62% felt high-stress levels, loss of control, and extreme fatigue.
• Research has also linked burnout to many negative physical and mental health outcomes, including coronary artery disease, hypertension, sleep disturbances, depression, and anxiety, as well as increased alcohol and drug use. Moreover, burnout has been shown to produce feelings of futility and alienation, undermine the quality of relationships, and diminish long-term career prospects."

Real-Life Questions

• What is my level of inspiration today?
• What is my hangup? What am I putting off that is more important than my influence?
• What are untouchables that I am afraid others will touch?
• What is my lowest low? When I am down, where do I find inspiration to grow?
• What emotions can I control with motions and actions? Am I waiting for inspiration or not understanding its real meaning?
• What are fears that prevent me from healthy striving?
• What type of perfection might I be stuck hiding behind?
• What is it I am chasing inside?
• What is most fulfilling?
• What would I read if someone wrote about my life like Alfred?

Ask yourself questions in the area you want to reflect on so you can chase inspiration to keep growing.

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I have a purpose: to share insights and promote other leaders' success. FOLLOW ME via this link, and I will send you a signed, free copy of my?book when it comes out. Visit me at www.thestutsongroup.com