I am so honored to have my friend Jared Latiago guest posting here. He is on his guest posting tour and I’m glad he decide to stop by. SO without further ado…

“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him…” Genesis 1:27

When we think of this verse, we look at it on a physical level. That’s okay to do but as I’ve learned, there is always more to a verse than meets the eye.

We can think about pastors that preach a sermon series for weeks on end, all over just a few verses. And we can quickly see how important it is to allow scripture to penetrate our exterior and course throughout our lives. There is no surface-level with God.

His spirit dwells within us.

As a Leader

Leaders are often described as risky, driven, motivated, influencers and much more. These descriptions are all accurate, some fit certain leaders more than others, but all are accurate. But the one that we truly hope describes who we are, is Christ-like.

You see, Christ was a leader. He worked hand in hand with God to create the universe and didn’t stop there. He came to Earth as a servant-leader. As a sacrificial-leader. And as a loving, giving, merciful leader.

Why should we be any different?

If we are truly made in His image, we should be all these things. Leaders don’t have to kick butt and take names. They don’t have to be greedy or rude or controlling. In fact, they need to be quite the opposite. Christ was the best example we have ever had a leader and He was none of those things.

As a Giver

John 3:16 describes the greatest gift ever given in the history of the universe. “God gave his only son…” Does that sound like he’s a giver?

I’m looking for a resounding YES here!

We were made to be givers. Whether we want to consider ourselves a leader or not, we were made to give. There is no doubt about the fact that God gives all he can to make us understand his love for us. So why should there be any doubt that he gave us the gift of giving.

It’s engrained in us to give. Not just monetarily, but with time, knowledge and any resources we have.

As a Worker

Now this is a big one for me. The others hold their own but this one…this one hits my heart hard.

Why in the world do we have this idea that we don’t have a talent to use for Christ!?! It baffles me that people believe this. Maybe you haven’t found it yet, but you were created for something awesome!

You can’t tell me that the God who intricately “knit you together in your mother’s womb” neglected to weave in a purpose. Or a talent. Or a dream. – Tweet that!

You can’t tell me that. God doesn’t make mistakes; you are no exception.

As a person in this world, it’s our God-given duty to use our gifts to fulfill the purpose he has laid before us. We were made in his image and He has a purpose, doesn’t he? Did Christ have a purpose for coming to Earth? Did he have a purpose for dying on the cross? What about his purpose for being resurrected?

We are made in His image. We have a purpose too.

The Takeaway

So, as you can see, God can use scripture to take over our lives. One single verse or a few words can quickly become a central part of who we are and we can apply it to several areas of life very easily.

The one takeaway: “Made in His image” is far more than physical.

First I want to thank Jonathan Pearson for inspiring this post. He came up with the awesome post Lead Like God… and I was blown away.

Since we’re all entrepreneurs we’re all leaders. And as leaders we’re constantly on the lookout for models of leadership. What better model is there than God? And so I want to list the positive attributes of leadership from Him that great leaders emulate.

I’d like to tell you that I have all these qualities. I don’t. But don’t worry: I don’t feel bad about telling you…I know you don’t have them either So that means we can learn them together…and be the leaders we were meant top be!

The first 2 are the ones from John’s post as I do believe they head the list:

1. They Have Unfailing Love

He loves without wavering. Love is the center of all great leadership. No need to explain this.

2. They’re Faithful

I’ll let Jon explain this:

“God is faithful. We’ve heard that. We believe that. We just may not have thought of it as a leadership principle. The truth is, God is faithful to his people. God is faithful to his vision. God is faithful to his plan.”

3. They Have a Long Range Plan

“He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan…” (Ephesians 1:10 MSG)

True leaders GO somewhere. Have a long range plan to go somewhere. Have goals to get somewhere. There’s no such thing as a blind leader! True leaders know the first step in achieving anything is to answer this question: “Where are we going?”

4. They Unify

“…in which everything would be brought together and summed up in Him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.” (Ephesians 1:10)

God is a unifier. He wants everything and everyone united in Him. Good leaders unite people. This was one of the positive attributes of King Hezekiah. After he took power, cleansed the Temple, and organized the Levites for worship he broke political affiliations and invited everyone in Israel to come to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. He worked to bring unity to Israel. He wanted the people to understand that the mission is bigger than any division.

And speaking of mission…

5. They’re Purpose Driven

“It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone. (Ephesians 1:11-12 MSG)

All throughout history its been proven that discontented people will give up things they can see for things they can’t:

• An Egypt for a Promised Land
• A temporal home for an Eternal One
• A British lead India for a free one
• A nation where people will “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
• Become a martyr and receive a home with 72 virgins
• A British America for an America where there is “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

6. They Bring the Best Out of People

“Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything He does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness.” (Ephesians 5:26 MSG)

7. They Demand Results

“The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’” (Matthew 25:23 NLT)

Not alibis or excuses but results. What truly separates the great from the mediocre are results. Great leaders demand excellence, quality, and at the end of the day they want “fruit that remains.”

8. They Fire People When Necessary

“But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it…Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” (Matthew 25: 26-27; 30 NLT)

Because these great leaders demand results they will fire people who don’t produce results. Or, people who stop the group from producing results (ie: gossips, complainers, and etc).

9. They Properly Allocate Resources

“Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.” (Matthew 25:28-29 NLT)

There’s no such thing as a poor manager being a great leader.

10. They Treat People Like Owners

“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His Life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” (John 10:11-13 ESV)

A shepherd is vastly different from a hired hand–the shepherd has a sense of ownership while the hired hand doesn’t. As a result, when adversity comes the hired hand is gone! Most leaders treat people like hired hands instead of like shepherds. They treat them like “go fors”–”go for this, go for that, and I’ll make the decisions.”

But not great leaders. They treat people like shepherds–they listen to people, make them feel like their ideas matter, and treat them like owners. Because they know this will cause people to give their all–they know some will even lay down their “life for the sheep.”

 11. They Promote From Within and From the Ground Up

“David had told his troops, ‘The first soldiers to kill a Jebusite will become my army commander.’ And since Joab son Zeruiah attacked first, he became commander.” (1 Chronicles 11:6 CEV)

The great leader David opened a new position, interviewed his people, and Joab got the job!

12. They Know it Starts at The Top

“Then Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.’” (John 5:19 NKJV)

Great leaders know that WHATEVER (good or bad) is at the top will trickle down. This is why they demand more of themselves than they do of their people.

13. They Empty Themselves

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death. Even death on a cross.” (Philipians 2:5-8 NRSV)

Great leaders are willing to put aside privileges to serve those who need service. In addition to that, they periodically “empty” themselves of preconceptions, brilliance, and even past information. They know that to be “full of” themselves is to know the answer without assessing the problem:

• Great salespeople can only serve after uncovering the prospects needs
• Great doctors diagnose before prescribing an answer
• Great students empty themselves before they can learn anything new. The worst thing a teacher can hear from an ignorant student is “I know.”

14. They Know How to Sell

”’Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.’ Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”

Peter knew how to sell!

He spoke with conviction, passion, confidence, and clarity. He overcame objections, used references, and asked for the order.

Great leaders know to sell. They sell their ideas, dreams,  and hopes; they sell cooperation and unity. They plant motives, build anticipation, and when the time is right they close the deal: “Repent!!!”

15. They Afflict When Necessary

“Wounds made by a friend are intended to help, but an enemy’s kisses are too much to bear.” (Proverbs 27:6 GWT)

Great leaders  give appreciation and encouragement…but there are times when they downright afflict. They afflict followers for their good. They’re willing to be unpopular and disliked for it. But they know in the end its best.

What else do these great leaders do? 

Oh don’t forget… download 4 free chapters of my book here.

Before I knew this secret I dealt with douche bag bosses in one of these ways:

• Arguing back.
• Complaining about them to coworkers.
• Finding ways to work less.
• Quitting the job…only to find that they were in the next job in another person’s body!
• And yes…indirectly telling them I would love to punch them in the face after work.

I’m not proud of this. But like I said: that was before I knew the secret. And then I learned the secret and it revolutionized my life. This secret made every douche-bag boss putty in my hand. But I will warn you: this secret WILL forever change you. If you think you’re ready for it…keep reading.

Jesus Hinted at the Secret

Jesus knew how powerful the secret was…and yet He only glossed over it. He didn’t delve into it. He didn’t elaborate on it. He just threw it out in the middle of conversation.

What was it? Well…you’re going to have to go over to Matt Williams’ blog and check it out. I spill all the juicy secrets over there!!

About a year and a half ago I made it a habit of visiting different churches as an unknown visitor. I wanted to get ideas, see the different cultures and get a feel of the different people that worship God.

What made it even more interesting was when I stopped wearing “church clothes.” I’d go in with a hoodie or leather jacket, Timberland boots and a book bag that had my Bible and pad to take notes. It was interesting to note how I was treated: Some were nice, some were indifferent and some were, well, less than friendly.

But there was one instance that is forever burned in my mind.

Visitor in the Crowd I went into a very large, technologically advanced church. It was one of the hottest churches in New York City. I walked in one fall Sunday with my hoodie, leather jacket, jeans, Timberland boots and book bag draped over my left shoulder.

You could hardly “tell” I was a Christian.

When I entered there were six greeters, and I was walking straight towards one of them. She said, “Good morning.” I perked up and thought she was talking to me; alas I was wrong. It was an older gentleman behind me. She went around me to give him a big hug.

You can read the rest at my guest post at Church Marketing Sucks.

Recently South Carolina pastor Perry Noble made public the goal of seeing 3000 people come to Christ in one weekend. Unfortunately, they didn’t see 3000 people come to Christ… they saw 1,251.

1,251 people!

It’s not 3,000 but it’s not too shabby either!

This tremendous victory simply illustrates the power of leader totally committed to God, the power of believing God for big things, the power behind faith, and the power of setting concrete goals.

Goals??

What do goal have to do with spiritual victories like this?

Everything!

Most people can see the power of goals in things like career advancement, getting out of debt, wealth accumulation, and such; but not for things like evangelism and “spiritual victories.”

And yet they fail to realize the universal application of goal setting.

The Power of Goals

The Bible itself is very clear about the power of goals:

“Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run. For the vision is yet for the appointed time;  it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.” (Habakkuk 2:2-3 NASB)

 “If your goals are good, you will be respected.” (Proverbs 11:27 GNT)

Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, speaks ardently about setting and reaching goals. Charles Lawless Jr, former Dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions and evangelism, spoke about setting goals for evangelism. Michael Hyatt, former CEO of Thomas Nelson publishers, spoke about using goals to turn around a badly run division when he was a publisher.

The fact is this: goals are powerful!

But many people rely solely on waiting for “the vision to come to pass.” But make no mistake about it: vision and goals are inseparable.

What are the benefits to goal setting? I’m glad you asked:

1. Goal Setting Helps The Brain

It’s been estimated that human only use 10% of the brains power is used while 90% lies dormant. One of the ways to harness the latent potential of the brain is through goals.Why? The brain loves goals! When goals are set, dopamine is released in the brain. A motivated brain will be rewarded along the way to the achievement by the release of these chemicals. The brain is a “goal seeking mechanism”-it derives its greatest pleasure from overcoming objectives.

2. Goal Setting Activates the Reticular Activation System

The brain receives millions of bits of information per second and that information goes through a filtering process. The Reticular Activation or (RAS) is the brain’s filter it decides what to accept or reject. So whenever you have a vision and that vision is made plain with goals, the RAS is activated to notice anything that will help achieve that goal.

3. God Gets Behind Goals

It has to do with the Law of Faith:

“According to your faith, so be it unto you.”

One of things Michael Hyatt,as it related to vision and goal setting, was NOT to focus on the “how” too early but the “what”:

“The problem is that people get stuck on the how. They don’t see how they could accomplish more, so they throttle back their vision, convinced that they must be “realistic.” And, what they expect becomes their new reality. This is simply faith applied negatively.”

It’s also been said that:

“Goals are the rudder of our lives, and God’s wisdom is the wind filling the sails.”

Now your “boat” is going somewhere, my question is this: where are you going? Have you started the process of goal setting?

P.S.: While you’re here why not download 4 free chapters of my book here.

It appears I’ve become a Freddy Krueger blogger. I didn’t mean for it to happen to this way, but it has.

Not familiar with Freddy Krueger blogging? I’ll let Jeff Goins explain it:

It’s a disturbing image, isn’t it? Freddy Krueger reaching into your dreams and wreaking havoc on your life? Why, then, would I draw an analogy from a horror movie character to your blog? It has to do with being everywhere.”

For more info check out Danny Iny’s post How I Became the Freddy Krueger of Blogging.

I have FOUR post running simultaneously this week.

Four!

All from blogs I highly respect.

Did it happen overnight? No. Because of goal that I set out to accomplish by August 19th, 2013 I’ve committed to a guest posting schedule of a minimum of 4 posts a week.

I’ll tell you the goals in a later post.

But for now here are all the posts:

The Dangerous Art of Complaining | Jason Vana

3 Laws Writers Use to Change the World | Jared Latigo

What I Did in Response to My Angry Boss | Christian Faith at Work

Why God Is More Concerned About Your Character Than Your Career | The Daily Retort

When Swedish industrialist and International Christian Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) founder Gunnar Olson started his first company, in his words, he was a yo-yo Christian. When things were great he was ecstatic, when things were down he was depressed. Also he was super-spiritual, so when sales were down he would fast and pray.

He was excited. He desperately needed answers from God. What mystical insight had God revealed to her?

Find out here at Joseph LaLonde’s blog

The Law of Vision is:

“The Law that states that every plan, achievement, or purpose must be seen before it can be realized.”

Like any other law this law is as basic as cause and effect. Those who obey it find themselves hoisted above any limitation (man-made or otherwise); while those who disobey it find themselves hopelessly trapped with no means of escape. Vision is the fruit of purpose. Why?

Because they (purpose and vision) work hand in hand.

A person starts with purpose (who am I) and out of that purpose flows vision (where we’re going):

Purpose ===>Vision===>Purpose

But the ultimate purpose of the vision is to fulfill the purpose of the person…or company…or ministry…or organization.

• Companies with a deeply entrenched long term vision blow past competitors whose only ambition is to remain open.
• The salesperson who can close the deal in their mind’s eye will always beat those who “hope” the prospect can see their products value.
• The leader who envisions what can be will always go further and gain more influence than those who only see what is.
• Resources and opportunity tackle the person of vision while dodging those who “aren’t sure what they want.”

This law is powerful. And it has benefited countless people over time.

There is ONLY PROBLEM with it!!

This is problem is so monumental that its has tripped up thousands of people. Millions perhaps.

It has stopped people from reaching their destiny and full potential!

What is it???

I’m glad you asked. You can find out here at my guest post at Intentional Today! 

Don’t be shy…tell me what you think!

Throughout history, truly great companies and people have answered these questions: Who are we? What are we about?

It’s these questions that we’re ALL  asking ourselves.

In fact, in an interview with Fast Company Magazine internationally known best-selling author Jim Collins, was asked the reasons for the success of his book Built to Last. His response was the need people have to “find meaning in life”:

“I never expected it to hit the way it did; and I can’t really explain the mysteries of the zeitgeist. Perhaps one factor is that it speaks to a deep human yearning to be better, always better. It turns out that a lot of people want to build something great, perhaps even enduring, as a way to find meaning in life.”

Truly effective people subscribe to this idea of purpose:

• Glen Allsop of Viperchill believes in an internal mission statement.
• Chris Guillebeau believes in a 140-character mission statement.
• Devin Hughes of Upstart Nation believes a personal mission statement becomes a necessity in one’s personal brand portfolio.

Purpose is the catalyst for all great companies and organizations.

It was the secret play of the late Steve Jobs.

When  Jobs came back to Apple he came back to a mess: little to no market share, declining revenue, and a business almost on the verge of bankruptcy. He turned the company around simply by focusing on what the company had long overlooked: its core purpose.

According to Jobs:

“Apple was in serious trouble. Apple had to remember who Apple was because they’d forgotten who Apple was.”

We all know how that ended up!

But finding one’s purpose all boils down to finding one’s “sphere.” Without the sphere you won’t find your purpose, without your purpose you’l never truly be effective, and if you’re not effective you’ll be swallowed up in mediocrity.

“So how do I find my sphere?”

“What is my sphere?”

I’m glad you asked.

The answer is found in this guest post I did at Dan Miller’s blog .  Head over there and discover your “sphere”!

This is a guest post by Mr. X of GhostLancers. You can read more Ghostlancers here. And you can follow him on Google plus here.

For many of you, blogging  might seem like a very nice idea. There isn’t any boss you have to answer to, and you can write what you want, when you want. However, blogging requires determination and this is a fact that many people find out quite late, and it ends up taking a toll on them. If you aren’t prepared to be determined regarding what you want to do, you will end up leaving writing posts altogether. One of the biggest problems that startup blogger’s experience  is finding the answer to what niche they should write about. There are a lot of niches present in the internet world and finding the ‘right one’ for you can take a lot of time if you aren’t ready. Here you will get to know some tips related to how you can find the niche that’s perfect for you as a startup blogger.

1. Know your Strengths

The first thing which you have to do is to know about your strengths as a blogger. When you start, there will be a lot of areas which you want to write about. You might hear from someone that writing about technology gets a lot of readers; however, if you aren’t interested in technology, then you won’t be able to go far once you start writing about it.

You need to know about your interests and ask yourself: What can I write about? What do I like which I want to share with the world?

If you pick something of your interest, you will have fun writing posts for your blog.

2. Keep yourself Confined

When you start blogging, most probably, you would want to write about a lot of things which you are interested about. Take my advice and keep yourself confined to only one thing. If you are interested in technology, then look at the gadgets which you are specifically interested in, for example, cameras, mobile devices, etc. and then write only about those.

You need to cater to a specific niche audience, at first and as time passes, and you get more readers; you can expand your reach and include other things you are interested in. However, it’s important that you keep everything to one niche. Cater to the specific audience you have and build your repo from there.

3. Look at the Competition

When you decide to start writing about some particular niche, you need to look at the competition you will be facing. Yes, there are a lot of people who write about almost every topic you can think of. So, how can a startup blog make its mark?

The answer is simple; however, it needs work! Once, you have figured out the niche you are interested in, you need to look at other blogs that have related content. See how the content is written and then try to do handle the topics in a new way. You need to give your readers something new in order to be noticed and make the way you handle your niche, stand out!

4. Don’t give up

Being persistent is the most important thing! Don’t get disappointed if your startup blog doesn’t get readers in the beginning. Once, you have found the perfect niche for you, just keep writing and in time you will get the readers you want. If you start writing about ‘Food’ because you like it, but you aren’t getting readers and you think that you should shift to ‘Sports’, even if you don’t like it, then don’t ‘give up’. Keep writing about ‘Food’ because it’s something you are interested in, and it will prove to be beneficial for you rather than shifting to something you have no interest in. Don’t be greedy when it comes to getting readers. You will get them in time!

5. Unique Keyword

When you have a startup blog and know about the niche that’s perfect for you. It’s very beneficial if you create a unique keyword as that will help you appear in search engine results because there’s a high chance that you will be the only one who’s targeting the unique keyword.

Following these tips will allow you to find the perfect niche for your startup blog, and you will get to write content regarding the things you like.

We hope that this post by GhostLancers is beneficial for you.

Feel free to leave your comments!