Four Stages To Greatness  

Leading is serving; serving is living. Serving is the path to greatness; serving is greatness. You are great when you serve. 

Stage One:

Serve yourself. Learn that you are important as a person and useful as a leader. Develop your skills. Nurture your spirit. Feed your mind. 

Stage Two:

Serve others for what you receive.Work for honor, respect, even a paycheck. Live a life based on barter. You give in order to get. The more you give the more you receive. 

Stage Three:

Serve others for the sake of serving. In youth we serve ourselves. In adolescence we serve for what we receive. In maturity we serve for the sake of serving. Serving is noble in itself.

Stage three is the step where we serve regardless of opinion or applause; we've found ourselves. It's the stage where growing self-knowledge instills personal confidence. It's when leaders begin to emerge.

Stage Four:

Exponential influence begins the moment we begin serving others so others can serve others. In the beginning it's all about us. In the end it's all about them.

Serving others so others can serve others shifts our thinking about ourselves. Others move into the spotlight while we move off-center. Our mission becomes multiplication rather than individual success. It's the stage of extraordinary fruitfulness.

Find someone who will serve others:

Find a person with passion and pour yourself into them for their benefit not for yours. Education, intelligence, talent, heritage, and experience are important but passion trumps them all.  All four stages are present in mature leaders. There is, however, more of stage four than all the others.

Source:  Dan Rockwell, www.LeadershipFreak.com