FANNING INTO FLAME

In the New Testament there is a letter written from Paul to Timothy and in this letter Paul is encouraging his young protege to grow in his faith.  He uses the term "fan into flame" when referring to the gifts Timothy has.  In other words, Paul sees much potential in Timothy, and he is encouraging him to make the most of it.  While this passage of Scripture certainly refers to spiritual matters, I got to thinking about how this really can apply to all aspects of our lives, including leadership.

We are told we all have much more potential than we use and we're challenged to push ourselves to make better use of that potential.  The question is, "how do we do this?"  Of course we first must desire a better result from our efforts, but then what are the practical things we can do to fan the flames of our potential?  Here are a few ideas:

• Make sure you have a solid plan to follow.  Figure out where you want to be at some point in the future.  Then take a good look around at where you are right now so that you'll know what you have to do to get to your desired destination.
• Identify your strengths and your weaknesses so you can leverage your strengths and avoid or eliminate your weaknesses.
• Set a series of incremental goals that, if accomplished, will take you toward your ultimate objective of getting where you really want to go.
• Identify and learn any skills necessary to achieve your goals.
• Further invest in yourself by reading about personal growth topics, listening to, and talking with mentors and others you believe in who can coach and motivate you to success.

Once you have a solid plan to follow and you do a few things to chart your course, it is a matter of execution.  I've found that by making a plan, I am able to fan those flames of enthusiasm which gives me what I need to work my plan. 

We all have potential to be better leaders- we just need to fan those embers into flames!