Following Jesus & Leading Yourself

"The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried."
— G.K. Chesterton

"…let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
— Jesus, Matthew 5:16

“Are you drifting or are you driving?”

This question that floats across the ticker in my mind’s eye several times a week in various areas of my life.

Drifting is the path of no intention. It’s a lifestyle that lacks intentionality, leads to eventual stagnation, missed opportunities, and potential destruction.

Driving is the life of high intention. It leads to deliberate growth — not just for you, but for all those you influence.

A life of “driving” — the path of intentionality in all areas — is made possible by Jesus.

We are called and commissioned to the life of purposeful, always-seeking, never-ending growth.

We have a mandate to self-develop and the power in us to push into new levels in all areas of life.

This power is the Holy Spirit — the same Person of the Trinity who is the agent of resurrection — who overcame death. He lives in you if Jesus is Lord of your heart, mind, and life.

And because we have this new life, we must continue to pursue growth in all areas!

The integration of our spiritual growth and personal development is the engine for impacting and changing the world.

It’s a great conviction of mine that all Christ followers are to be the most creative, excellent, sharpest, focused, kindest, understanding, fittest, passionate, well-rested, present, considerate, etc. humans on planet Earth.

We should be actively seeking every area and every opportunity to grow — in Christ and in ourselves.

Following Jesus (spiritual growth) and Leading Yourself (personal development) is a beautiful, biblically-mandated integration that is possible for you.

The integration, its process, and the outcomes will look different for each of us. Nevertheless, it is for all of us.

Disclaimer before we go further: Do not mistake the title of this post. Jesus is leading your life! We also must recognize that He has given you the freedom and agency to position yourself for personal development. “Leading Yourself” is the commitment to drive and not drift — to be intentional, execute, and keeping learning.

The Bible says little about leadership as a focal topic. It does gives abundant examples of leadership — good and bad. 

It’s an abundant source of wisdom on relationships, stewardship, vision, and decision-making. Yet, it speaks less about leadership and more about following.

To follow Jesus simply means to walk in the wake of His life on earth as described in the New Testament and to live as if He is alive in you now.

Why follow Jesus?

This life of committing your ways to Him can be lived out through spiritual disciplines — which are practices that we do consistently to grow more into his character.

They are not to appease Him or to appeal to Him to draw closer to us. We already, all the way, for all time have all of Him!

So, when it comes to Following Jesus, here are 3 important disciplines for spiritual growth:

Every day, at the beginning of your day, throughout your day — take a moment to “preach the Gospel to yourself”.

You are made new in Christ — His works, not yours. This is the core of humility. All the self-motivation you need is found in the truth that Christ is alive in you, not in your own striving.

Galatians 2:20 — “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me...”

Plant yourself in Truth. Read, memorize, recall, chew on it all day long. Do this if you want to succeed in anything.

The Holy Spirit illuminating God’s Word to us is the source of all ultimate wisdom, maturity, and growth.

Most self-development principles can be traced back to the Bible.

Psalm 1:1-3 — “Blessed is the one…whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted…whatever they do succeeds.”

aka PRAY. This is communication with the One who is leading you. He does this typically through the avenue and application of prayer.

Is the Holy Spirit your closest companion? Are you talking with him throughout your day?

Philippians 4:6 — “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Jesus is leading you, and from that position of security, you must learn to lead yourself to grow in all ways.

Before we go further, we must recognize that to focus on personal development without spiritual maturity:

You may be productive. You may get applauded. But these accomplishments and accolades are ultimately temporal. They do not last.

But if you focus on primarily growing spiritually, then all personal development virtues will be accomplished in its wake, and the results will last forever.

One comes before the other if you want it to last.

Humility (God gives everything) and Self-Drive (I will steward what He has given me) are foundational characteristics of all personal development.

Partner these with opportunities to move through pain with perseverance and you are on your way to real growth — spiritually and personally.

Humility + Self-Drive + Perseverance = Opportunity for Personal Development

Here are 3 important skills to practice when given one of these opportunities:

If you can learn how to learn, you can be unstoppable.

Identify your “next level” as well as an end goal. Identify the patterns and steps of people who are already there or have already accomplished that end goal.

Consume (read, listen, take notes) so you can create and apply.

Executing is just getting stuff done. The best execution is getting the right stuff done.

Make and keep a list of goals and tasks. Prioritize every day.

Do the next best thing and refuse distraction.

Reverse engineer your vision, goals, and daily tasks to do consistently.

Reps are what change you.

Honorable Mention: How to Communicate (another post for another time 😉)

We are intentional to grow so that we can love. This is all for love!

Love is how we become the “best people on the planet”. Not for competition or winning or pride — but to serve, to love others.

Imagine what it would be like to be the fittest, sharpest, most creative and passionate version of yourself who can problem solve, execute, and followthrough — for the sake of the people around you!

What kind of impact would that version of you have on the piece of the world that God has given you and this time in history you’re in?

Jesus is leading. We are following.

Let’s give people around us a reason to ask — “what in the world is it that drives him/her?”

I’ve had a lot of organic conversations with friends, coworkers, fun new people in my life that have asked me what it is I’m doing for personal development.

“Leading” and “sharpening” myself has truly been a multi-decade long journey. It would be nearly impossible for me to link every book, podcast, youtube video, etc. that I’ve consumed.

So, here are a handful of miscellaneous thoughts — in no particular order:

Curate your algorithm. It’s taken a few years to get my Youtube, Instagram, and other apps to a place where 80%+ of what I follow and see is creators and content that builds me up in different ways. Unfollow anyone who isn’t inspiring or educating. Only “like” what does.

Read the books successful people mention. I realized several years ago that I kept hearing the same books mentioned over and over. Rich Dad Poor Dad, How to Win Friends, The Alchemist, etc — and I kept reading new books that I’d see marketed on social media. I started reading these often-mentioned “classics” and my mindset started to change.

Listen to podcast & audiobooks every day. I don’t do sports radio, gossip talk, news, or current events. Not hating, I just don’t get value from them myself. I really only listen to a handful of solid leadership, organization-focused, mindset and discipline, etc. books and podcasts. (And lots of good music, of course.)

Journal lists and free-flowing thoughts. Putting onto paper (or a Notes app) what is in my head has been an unreal lifehack.

Keep a calendar and dayplanner. I love Fantastical — connected via Google Calendar. I can’t recommend enough using a calendar app every hour of your day.

Learn to listen to the voice of God. The ultimate source of personal growth. There are so many wonderful books and resources here. If you’ve read this far and want 1-2 recommendations, reply and I’ll send them! If I had 1 resource to give you, I think you know which one it is…

I’d bet 100% of you who’ve read this far have also seen the "The 7-Day Family Reset.”

If you haven’t and want to see what it’s all about it — click this link or the one below!

Over the course of 1 week, I help guide you through organizing and simplifying key areas of your family life — the calendar, relationships, finances, values and vision, etc.

(Even though you’re subscribed here already, you’ll still need to put your email in, so the system can send you through the 7 days.)

Love to you all.

Tyler, Texas | November 23, 2025

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