Preparing to Lead: Making a Difference One Gift at a Time

Preparing to Lead: Making a Difference One Gift at a Time
Why leadership often begins long before we’re ever called leaders

If you had asked me years ago whether I saw myself as a leader, I would have probably said no. I’m an artist. I paint. I work with my hands, my eyes, and my heart. Leadership, at least as I understood it then, seemed reserved for people with titles, corner offices, or organizational charts.

What I’ve come to learn is something much simpler—and much more accessible. Leadership often begins the moment we decide to use our gifts in service of something beyond ourselves.

That idea didn’t come from a textbook. It came from watching, listening, and learning—often from mentors who spoke about leadership in its most basic form. People like Jim Rohn, who reminded us that success is something you attract by the person you become. Or John Maxwell, who taught that leadership is influence—nothing more, nothing less. And closer to home, Nido Qubein, whose life demonstrates how vision, faith, and service can quietly shape entire communities.

Those lessons helped me see leadership not as a position—but as a practice.

Awareness: Recognizing What You’ve Been Given
Leadership often starts with awareness—an honest look at the gifts and talents you already have. For me, it was art. For someone else, it may be teaching, organizing, encouraging, building, or simply showing up when others don’t.

Awareness asks a simple question: How can what I do make life better for someone else?

Resourcefulness: Using What’s in Your Hands
Early on, I learned that making a difference doesn’t require waiting for perfect conditions. It requires using what’s available. Over time, I discovered that my artwork could do more than hang on a wall—it could raise awareness, support causes, and bring people together.

Leadership often looks like taking small, ordinary abilities and applying them intentionally. Not because you were asked—but because you were able.

Timing: Acting When It Matters—Not When It’s Comfortable
One of the quiet lessons mentors taught me is that opportunities rarely arrive with clear instructions. There’s a moment when you sense you should step forward—before comfort turns into complacency.

Leadership happens when you lean in at that moment. Not boldly. Not loudly. Just willingly.

Looking back, I didn’t set out to lead. I set out to be faithful with what I was given. Over time, I learned that example creates influence, service creates trust, and small actions—done consistently—can make a meaningful difference in a community.

So before thinking about leadership in grand terms, here’s a simpler place to start:

What gift or talent do you have—and where might it quietly make a difference?