One of the toughest skills for business builders to master is genuine leadership. Leadership requires that you lead with your heart…not your mouth.
If you’re not old enough to remember what Pac Man was, take a good look at the image. His mouth is open, and he is sucking in everything that comes his way. Another way to look at it is that his mouth is open and he’s spewing himself all over those he meets.
Either way, Pac Man is the opposite of what a leader should be.
God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. So let’s figure out how that basic design reality helps us avoid the Pac Man syndrome and excel at leadership.
Your first job in your business is to LISTEN to the needs of others and then determine if you can help them meet THEIR needs. This means that not everyone who gets in front of you is meant to be in your business or use your products. If you come to them with a heart to help them meet their needs, though, they’ll be open if they are meant to be in your business.
If you come to them with a heart full of yourself and your needs, you can’t possibly help them meet theirs. Even royalty exist to serve the needs of their people.
Do you see yourself as a king (or queen!) who commands their attention, or do you see yourself as a king (or queen!) willing to serve?
Think about the best examples of royal leadership in history. Those who were loved were no pushovers, but they were servants first. They cared about the needs of their people and their empires before themselves.
Ultimately, genuine leaders recognize that the needs of others center on finding their purpose in life–even if they don’t realize it.
You have to be leading from a heart that is firmly rooted in your own purpose in life before you can help others find theirs. If you are still searching, you won’t be able to listen. You’ll just be waiting for them to stop talking so you can give your pitch.
Your mouth is only useful to your business when you’ve achieved listening and a firmly rooted purpose in your own heart. Then your mouth is an asset to help others get what they want. Then you’ll choose your words carefully, and your words will have meaning.
What if you started right now today to work on your own heart?
What if you reached out to me today through this website and asked for help getting your heart right and ending the search for your own purpose?
You see, I believe in you. I believe that God has a distinct plan and purpose for you. His plan for you is to be great. He’s put all the right people in your path. You may have walked past more than a few of those right people without taking advantage of what they had to offer you. As long as you’re still in this life, it’s never too late.
Pac Man was a popular game in the 1980s. It’s mostly forgotten now.
But don’t let its lesson be forgotten. Don’t be a people eater or a people sprayer.
You want to leave a legacy of people’s lives changed for the better because you became a real leader.
Are you ready to stop being Pac Man?
Don’t forget…go light your lamp. God bless.
