Hi Reader,

This month is a big milestone for me: I turn 60.

And having started in my first position as a Pastor when I was 30, I've spent half my life in leadership and ministry — planting a church, publishing a bestselling book, hosting my leadership podcast, and equipping leaders to grow their church.

What blows me away the most?

Meeting leaders who take these ideas and use them to thrive in life and leadership.

Every time I meet someone and every story I hear from someone like you is the fuel that keeps me going.

So, this week, 10 Hard-Won Life Lessons for Younger Leaders - lessons that I think my younger self would want to know, or perhaps, as someone with a few fewer decades under their belt, could learn from, too.

Lesson 1: Success dies, but character lives

Here's what haunts me: your kids won't pull out your subscriber count at your funeral.

They won't replay your best podcast episodes or mention that presentation you gave. Instead, they'll talk about who you were—how you loved them, whether you were actually there for them or not.

Character isn't just important—it's pretty much everything. While knowledge puffs up and achievements fade, character lasts.

That promotion you're chasing? The glow fades before you’ve told the last friend about your new title. The platform you built? Someone else's will be bigger next year.

Honestly, the hedonic treadmill is real.

But character—the slow work of becoming more like Christ—that's what transforms your legacy.

If strangers on social media love you, but your kids don't, you win at the wrong game. If you're crushing it online, but your spouse feels alone, something's deeply broken.

Sanctification isn't just an esoteric theological construct—it's God chiseling away at who you are, not fuelling what you do.

Without character, what's left? Just a pile of stuff heading to Goodwill and achievements nobody cared about as much as you did.

Your character, not your competency, determines your legacy.

Get 9 More Life Lessons Here

As you dive into the lessons I've learned after 6 decades of being on this planet, ask yourself:

• What are you doing to thrive in life and leadership?
• What path are you on?
• What in your life is compounding for better or for worse?

Cheering for you,

P.S. What changes do you need to make now to have a better, more fulfilling future? Here are 10 Life (And Leadership) Lessons for Younger Leaders.