Do you ever wish you could go back and give advice to your younger self?
Imagine the problems you could have avoided, the pain you could have lived without.
Then again, you wouldn’t be who you are today without the mistakes you’ve made. As Heath Ledger would say, “It’s all part of the plan.”
While you may not be able to change what you’ve done, you can offer advice to the next generation as you mentor, disciple and release them to do greater things.
I love working with young people – the all-or-nothing attitude, the curiosity for deeper learning, and the relentless creativity. I know I won’t always have the same young people with me in ministry. They’ll move on.
What do I want them to catch before they leave for college? Before they move on?
I took some inventory of my life’s journey and settled on these 10 tips that I’d pass along:
1. Work Hard
Ala Seth Godin and his Poke the Box manifesto, get to work. Don’t wait for permission or sit on the sidelines to be told what to do. Start things. Innovate. Create. Go for it.
Too many young people are waiting on God for direction when they should just prayerfully go make something happen.
2. Be A Relentless Learner
Learning doesn’t necessarily mean enrolling in a university and taking classes. It’s a way of life. Take the initiative to learn.
Don’t wait for someone to teach you. Seize it. Listen to music, read books, observe other leaders, and ask questions. Be relentless.
3. Go Deep With God
Don’t get too hung up on the practical. It’s important, but not primary. Go deep with Jesus.
Invest your best efforts and energy in your personal walk with the Master. This is essential not only for worship leaders, but in any position of spiritual leadership.
4. Empower Others
Focus more on raising others up than promoting your own name. True success lies not in what you accomplish but in what you accomplish with and through others.
Make others great. Pour yourself into them.
5. Learn To Love Theology
Theology often takes a backseat to the practical. We divorce deep thinking from practical living.
If it wasn’t for my study of theology I wouldn’t be half the worship leader I am today.
I’m not talking about a purely mental, religious observance of truth but a passion-soaked, worshipful response to God’s Word and who He has revealed Himself to be.
6. Don’t Depend On College
If you go to college, great. But don’t over-rely on your education.
More important than going to school is being a hard worker, taking initiative, and being a lifelong learner. Having a degree doesn’t mean you’ll succeed. It just means you know how to play by the rules.
Realize that having a degree won’t guarantee you’ll succeed in life. You’ve got to take initiative.
7. Depend On the Holy Spirit
When Jesus says, “Apart from me you can do nothing”, I think he meant it. And I want to live it. I want those I’m discipling to live it as well. I want the book of Acts lived out in my generation.
I want to see the power of God on display through my life and the lives of those I lead.
8. Get Organized
Get a calendar and use it. Get a task manager and use it. Write goals for yourself and track them. Write down massive visions of what you want to accomplish with your life and break them up into action steps. Make sure they’re SMART, too:
- S – pecific
- M – easurable
- A – greed upon
- R – ealistic
- T – imely
9. Serve the Purpose Of God
I love Acts 13:36 – “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep.” Young people need to grasp this. We are on this earth to serve God’s purposes. When it’s all said and done it won’t matter what name I made for myself.
“Only one life ’twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.” – CT Studd
Until your last dying breath, serve the purpose of God in your generation.
10. Get a mentor
Don’t approach your life as a lone ranger. You need others who have gone before you to give you perspective. Take the initiative to find leaders you look up to and learn from them. Be open to learning. Submit and apply what you learn.
Question: What advice would you give to your younger self about leadership? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
My advice would be to “let it fly.” I’ve always been such a cautious person – wanting to make sure that things are just right before moving. The best and truest lessons of life are learned through experience. We can read about other people’s experiences all day and learn some valuable lessons, but until the lesson is “ours” I doubt if it truly sticks. Good stuff!
That’s good, Jason. One I thought about adding was “take risks”, which is similar to “letting it fly”. I tend to be too cautious and potentially miss out on good opportunities. Good one!
Something I’ve started doing recently that I wish I would’ve been doing for the last 10 years is not giving up when the going gets tough. As a creative individual, I tend to struggle with criticism, so under a lot scrutiny I would bow out or give up.
I watched Finding Nemo again recently (it’s so good), and Dory’s words “just keep swimming, just keep swimming…” have been my motto as of late. I’m trying to view critical words through the appropriate lens and see it as an opportunity for growth.
Is that the Father in you coming out? I don’t typically watch Finding Nemo in my spare time, though I do enjoy it 🙂
I hear ya, man. Sometimes adversity just means you’re doing something right. Opposition follows those who are making the biggest difference, in my opinion.
Loving the List David!
you said “Theology often takes a backseat to the practical. We divorce deep thinking from practical living.”
So True!
I often times forget about this Awesome God I’m writing about and forget that he can not be contained or boxed in a song….he can’t….not even all the songs about him in the world could even match to his ankles! lol…
Yes, the depth of God is endless. I’m of the opinion that we should never run out of new songs to write. We’ll never cease to discover new facets of his glory, you know?
Great tips!
a little of target, but you’ve recommended “Poke the Box” a couple of times. I just finished “Creative Matters” and they also recommended it but as i read the reviews on my Kindle, many of the reviewers gave it one star and said it was alot like “Tribe”. Have you read “Tribe”? What did you think of it?
It’s different than Tribes. Tribes about building your network, extending your platform, being unique. Poking the Box is about starting things and taking initiative. It came at a good time for me. Seth’s writing is always so motivating. I would recommend them both! Have you read any Seth Godin?
I am really enjoying this post – especially the bit on hard work:
“Too many young people are waiting on God for direction when they should just prayerfully go make something happen.”
This is so TRUE! The number one thing that keeps many from walking into the plans God has for their lives is that they fail to walk.
Great post. I often think about this premise. For me, I’d love to go back to my newly married self and tell him to spend his money more wisely and save more. And defend my wife more in ministry, its amazing how much she can be the focus in ministry, wrongly mind you, by others. I wish I could’ve defended her more. ahh so eager to please the wrong people sometimes.
Gotta slay that people pleasing demon 🙂
Love this one man! I hope God allows me to always be working with young people. I love that I have the chance to build into the next generation that will take things farther than I could have ever done. Great list.
Totally, man. It’s like the best part of what I do – pouring into the next generation. It takes humility to say they’ll take it further than you, but that’s good leadership.
Hey David!
I just got my new guitar in! It is amazing! Here are some pics of it: http://bigb94.wordpress.com/2011/07/28/new-guitar-epiphone-sg-400/
Don’t be afraid of failure. Everything won’t necessarily be successful. That doesn’t diminish our worth as a person (or in Christ). Learn from it and move on. And choose to believe that most everyone else isn’t sitting around keeping track of the things that don’t work out like we tend to do in our minds.
Chris, this is brilliant! Love it!
I’m a big fan of mentorship! Our young people need guidance, direction, and advice that will help them overcome obstacles in life. If I could go back and give myself advice as a young person, I know that there are many things that I would have done differently. Keep up the great work!