Leaders In History

Who do you think of when you hear "Leaders in History?"

Lincoln?

Washington?

Ghandi?

MLK?

Winston Churchill?

Mother Theresa?

Jesus?

possibly Hitler?

Stalin?

Mussolini?

Joseph Kony? (look him up, he's a very bad man)

Everyone listed above was a leader in history one way or another. So what sets the people in the first group apart from the people in the second?

Ohhhhh, I dunno, the people in the first group cared for human life maybe?

Obviously, but what power did the people in the first group have that has made us revere them? Not just what sets them apart from a group of dictators and mass murders, but what sets them apart from us? What did they each do to deserve a place among the most influential leaders of all time? And how can we become more like them?

What thats stands out to me most is they each had a purpose. They either died fulfilling that purpose, or saw that their purpose was met. But they didn't just have a purpose though, their purpose was sincerely good and their conviction to accomplish that purpose was strong. That shows loads about their character. They must all have been extremely perseverant. They truly believed in their cause and were able to convince others the importance thereof.

Do we all have a purpose to fulfill? Do we have goals and aspirations? If so, are they selfish? Will others benefit from the achievement of such goals? Do our friends and family share our desire to accomplish them?

(From here on out, the leaders I'm going to refer to do not include the people in the second group, cause those guys were just plain bad)

I know that each of these leaders wanted to make a change, but I'm also pretty sure none of them expected to make such great a impact. They're probably all pleased in heaven with how things turned out, but I doubt any them knew when they decided to make a change that we would be talking about them today.

So should it matter how big or small, or how personal or global our goals are? Probably not, but what should matter is our intentions are sincere and our conviction is real.

What I learned from analyzing these leaders is that I need to have a purpose and the conviction to accomplish that purpose. I understand better that, if a person wants to make lasting change, he or she needs to find a purpose and with strong conviction, see that that purpose is fulfilled.

So, whats my purpose exactly? Well, I think it varies from time to time but right now, it's indefinitely preparing to serve a mission.

What will it be after my mission? More then likely deciding on and pursuing a career that will allow me to support a family.

During that time, I'll definitely have to focus on starting a family.

After I've started a career and had a family, what's next?

There are lots of possibilities, and I've got a lot of time to think about them.

But for now I need to reel in my imagination and focus on the purpose at hand. Thanks Winston, George and Abraham... I've learned a great lesson. (I'm not discounting Ghandi, MLK, Mother Theresa or Jesus in anyway, I just thought Winston, George and Abraham sounded better in the sentence.)