On 14 October at 14H00, I had the opportunity to attend a Myles Munroe lecture on Leadership Development at Wits University. I must say that this was a very well presented talk and came back re-charged to continue doing what I am doing in mobilising young people to be the best they were created to be. The following are some of the notes I took from the lecture. Please read and be encouraged.
Leadership Development- The Power of ideas and the Misconception of Leadership
- There is nothing on earth that is more powerful than ideas.
- Ideas create & control everything (clothes, shoes, events, universities etc)
- They are so powerful than death. They outlive man.
- The world is ruled by dead men (communism, democracy etc. are dead men’s ideas)
- We believe we can kill ideas, but they kill us. You can kill Bin Ladin but terrorism will still be there. In fact, if you kill him it will only spread terrorism.
- We need to exchange bad ideas for good ones.
- Education itself is a collection of ideas
- If your ideas are wrong then you are wrong.
- As man thinks in his heart- that’s the man!
Solution
- Destroy bad ideas with better ones.
- Cannot lock/imprison ideas
- If you kill a person with ideas they become matrys (Jesus Christ). Killing that person will only spread his/her ideas.
IDEOLOGY- The Ideas we believe
The Product of ideas that has become acceptable.
PHILOSOPHY- To be in love with you thoughts
PHILO- To love
OSOPHY- To think/to know
PHILOSOPHER- Someone who is in love with their own thoughts.
The Greeks still rule- their ideas define leadership as we understand it today. (Colonialism was founded by them)
5 Things they believed about Leadership (He mentioned 4)
1. Leadership is a product of divine providence (The gods gave it)
2. Leadership is a product of birth traits (Physical features can confirm leadership)
3. Leadership is a result of charismatic personality. Charisma meaning: The gifting of the gods.
4. Leadership is a result of providential superiority. If the gods chose you to be a leader, then everyone else is inferior to you.
Some notes he made
- Leadership is a product of ideas, it depends where you got yours from.
- The Sub-conscience/your hard-drive is where your belief system is.
- Wearing a crown doesn’t change your mind.
- The problem with Africa is the confusion between independence and freedom. Ecclesiastes 11: “Woe to country where a slave becomes a king.” (Mentality). The reason why king Solomon said this is because he know that slaves only think survival.
- Sometimes it takes a generation to change an idea. It Israel 40 years to change their slavery mentality. SA has long way to go.
- You are not free until your mind discovers the truth about you.
- The struggle if between the ears!
- Are my ideas stronger than prison? Nelson Mandela, Apostle Paul.
- Learn the truth about yourself
- Don’t believe people’s opinions about you. There things that other people call you that are not true. You are where you come from.
- Don’t trust knowledge. We begin learning when we leave educational institutions.
Therefore Leadership is... The capacity to influence others through inspiration, motivated by passion, generated by conviction, enthused by a purpose.
Passion is finding something to die for.
-Culture produces leadership- inferior or superior.
Every human being was created to be a leader not over people but over an area of giftedness!
Hope you were as challenged as I was.
Blessing
