Leadership Gold
“Leadership is influence,” says John Maxwell. Many people think leadership begins only after you graduate, get a good job, and earn a title like “manager.” But that’s not true. Leadership can start right now. If you are influencing someone, you are already leading.
This kind of leadership is possible in middle school and high school. When I was a high schooler, I grew as a leader through roles like class president, team captain in soccer and basketball, performer in school plays, and competitor in academic and talent events. But leadership wasn’t just about titles or awards. It also showed up in everyday life—how I acted in class, in the hallways, at home, and with friends. The way I treated and influenced others mattered just as much, if not more.
So how can a high school student grow as a leader with the help of a coach or mentor? One helpful resource is John Maxwell’s book Leadership Gold. This book shares 26 simple and practical principles about leadership, including:
- Leading by serving
- Growing intentionally
- Working well with others
You don’t have to wait until you’re older to start learning these lessons. I wish I had known them sooner, and I hope your student-leader can start using them today to reach their full potential.
How to Keep Your Character at Work (Even When It’s Hard)
When to Leave a Job for a New One
Life coach and educator Dr. Joe Henriques shares how he knew it was time.
This video is for young people preparing to enter the workforce, and is part of a job and vocation series.
The Silver Trumpet
The story provides a memorable image of evil’s corrupting influence on people, love, and relationships, and the need, reality, transforming power, and external nature of redemption.
Story elements include a prince, twin princesses, a dwarf, a castle, frogs, a silver trumpet, and chivalry.
The pattern of events, plot, and meaning make this story enjoyable for young and old alike.
Published in 1924 by one of C.S. Lewis’ literary friends.
How to Get Promoted: The Qualities that Actually Matter
A guide for students. Life coach and educator Dr. Joe Henriques shares how to get promoted and move up in an organization or business.
How to Know What Vocation is Right for You
Teen Summer Camp Opportunity
I interview Stephen Pierce, Director of Student Recruitment at Patrick Henry College. We discuss their very popular Teen Leadership Camps, which include Strategic Intelligence, Speech, Moot Court, Literature & History, Drama & Theater, Entrepreneurship, and more.
Summer Enrichment Opportunity for Teens
I will publish an interview on Thursday at 7 PM about summer camps for teens at Patrick Henry College. It’s a massive enrichment opportunity, one that I benefited from when I was a teen. The program director shares what parents can expect and what the student outcomes are.
The camps include Constitutional Law, Speech, Literature & History, Journalism & Digital Media, Drama & Theater, Leadership & Worldview, and more.
These high-quality Christian camps provide abundant spiritual, intellectual, and social encouragement, as well as opportunities for students to broaden their horizons and to be challenged to be all they can be now for the future.
Image taken by Patrick McKay
The Silver Chair
In the second-to-last book of the Narnia series, Aslan calls two children to Narnia and gives them a mission to find a lost prince. To guide them, Aslan reveals four signs that they must remember and follow at all costs. Glimfeather and another talking owl introduce them to a strange guide named Puddleglum, a frog-like creature, who is uncommonly humorous and brave.
They set out through the Northern lands, through a country of giants, where they meet a lady in the company of a black knight. She tells them of a place of respite. Tired from their journey, the children want a warm meal and a place to rest, but their lack of focus on the signs puts them in grave danger.
After a narrow escape, the party slips down an underground passage. Suddenly, earthmen of various sizes and shapes surround them and take them to the queen of the underworld. Meeting the black knight, their beliefs in Aslan and his signs are put to a terrifying test.
One of C.S. Lewis’ scarier Narnia tales, The Silver Chair, provides a picture of what it means to live by the truth. It also shows what deception looks and feels like. (A beautiful enchantress endeavors to mislead and trick those within her power.) Essential to the story’s meaning are two scenes (i.e., Aslan giving the four signs to the children, and the thorn driven into the Lion’s paw) that allude to the Bible and the atonement of Christ.
Lewis masterfully combines elements of fairy tales, romantic literature, journey stories, and Christian allegory to produce an experience that teaches and warns, and reveals hope and joy.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 12
- Next Page »