Learning From a Different Place – Part 18
David Freund, Chief Leadership Officer

As we go through life, we often are required to make sacrifices. Most of the time, they are required by others. We may need to give up salt in our diet if we have blood pressure issues. We may need to change our personal plans because of work demands. An expectant mother may need to change her diet and avoid her favorite foods for the sake of her baby. You have probably made all kinds of sacrifices in your life. Law number 18 among John Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is the Law of Sacrifice.

As I read through this law years ago, it made a lot of sense to me. I understood that sacrifices are made by all of us as we go through life. I didn’t realize that if I wanted to GROW through life, I would need to be much more intentional about the sacrifices I chose to make. I was trying to add more to my life rather than intentionally choosing what would support my growth.

The subtitle for his chapter reads, “A leader must give up to go up.” This subtitle came to life for me in 2015 when I was faced with a major choice for my life. Would I choose to leave a company I loved and had been blessed to work with for 18 years for an unknown and uncertain future that had the potential to catapult my growth and also allow me to share my journey with an ever-increasing number of people?

I spent weeks thinking about my decision—many days of reflection and prayer about making the right choice. I would be walking away from security in the present and the future for the unknown. One day my wife and I were discussing my decision, and she asked me why I would stay where I was. All of the answers were very self-serving. She then asked me if any of those were reasons to stay in a job. She helped me realize that I was at a crossroads in my life and that I needed to give up to go up.

That choice was made over six years ago, and I could never have imagined the amazing journey of the last six years. It wasn’t always easy, but it was always rewarding. I learned the deeper messages in the Law of Sacrifice. I learned that sometimes you need to say no to the good so you can make time for the best. How about you? Are you willing to give up, so you can go up?