The first “Purpose Killer” we identified in Part 1 of this 3 part series of posts was: Apathy. Today I want to talk to you about what I believe is the second major Purpose Killer:

A LACK OF EXPOSURE

I’m a firm believer that both personally and professionally we tend to only ascend to the level of life and leadership that we’ve been exposed to.

But what do you do if you’ve never experienced the privilege of having a visionary parent, pastor, mentor, coach or leader in your life who could not only “tell” you how to pursue your purpose, but also “show” you what real life “cultivating-leadership” looks like in action?

If this describes you, than I’ll bet I know the one word that probably sums up how you feel right now: “frustrated.”

Your frustrated because deep down inside you’ve always known that you were made for more, but you have no idea how to get to where you’re called to go. Cultivating a healthy marriage, family, ministry team, or personal vision is something you know you need to do, but you’ve never seen it done and so the whole thing seems a little bit intimidating.

If any of this resonates, no worries! In this post I’m going to share 4 surprisingly simple ways to lift the lid of limited exposure from your life and leadership.

4 Simple Ways to Life the Lid of Limited Exposure from your Life and Leadership

1. Read, read, and read.  I know I’ve said it before, but I can’t say it enough. Leaders are readers. Exposing yourself to authors who write on the subject of your own personal purpose is one of the most effective ways to lift the lid of limited exposure off of your life. You might not be able to literally sit down with a gifted leader like John C. Maxwell and pick his brain over a cup of coffee, but you can feed your purpose by buying his books and reading his material.
2. Listen to Podcasts. There are literally thousands of Podcasts covering just about every field of life and leadership that you can imagine, and guess what? They are completely free to download and listen to! Instead of listening to music or sports radio on your drive to work every morning, why not listen to an expert in your field share ideas, thoughts, and wisdom that’s going to feed your purpose and expand your potential as a leader. Just think of how much working knowledge you could gain over the course of just 1 month if you spent 20 minutes a day 3 days a week feeding your purpose by letting great leaders pour into your life via a Podcast? (I’ve listed 5 below that you might find helpful):
   1. Leadership – John C. Maxwell
   2. Money – Dave Ramsey
   3. Entrepreneurs – Michael Hyatt
   4. Ministry Leadership – Craig Groeshel
   5. Preaching – Bishop T.D. Jakes
3. Visit. Go on a field trip to watch other people do what you feel called to do. Whenever I see someone else doing “now” what I believe I’m called to do later it expands my vision for the future and adds fuel to my faith tank. It helps put my purpose into the right context and it challenges me to dream bigger dreams and set greater goals.
4. Seek out a mentor. You might be surprised at how many leaders would be willing to speak into your life if you only made it a priority to ask. The truth is that most leaders feel rather humbled at such a request, but if you’re waiting for a mentor to look for you, you might die waiting. Typically speaking productive leaders are very intentional people when it comes to their schedule so they’re not going out of their way to look for new ways to spend more of their time. You’re going to have to go out of your way to initiate that relationship. And it doesn’t have to be complicated. Just call them and ask them if you can take them out to lunch. If they ask why tell them the truth, “because you admire their leadership and would love the opportunity to ask them a few questions and glean from their wisdom.”

[shareable cite=”@PastorTHall”]Ineffective leaders wait for opportunities. Effective leaders CREATE opportunities. Are you waiting or creating?[/shareable]

One of the biggest mistakes I see young leaders make when it comes to personal development is that they “wait” for opportunities to grow rather than “create” them. If you follow these 4 simple steps I promise you, you’ll blow the lid of limited exposure off of your life and leadership.

I’d love to hear your thoughts or ideas in the comments below!