Opportunities are always presenting themselves.  When I was in the Navy, I was the first person any of my superiors knew who had ever gotten qualified to stand Engineering Officer of the Watch (EOW) in less than two years of getting out of school.  I was the youngest and lowest ranking member of the Engineering Casualty Control Training Team (ECCTT).  And I was on my way to dive school, until I decided I really didn’t want to be in the Navy.  These opportunities didn’t come because I complained and asked for more money, but because I worked and learned the entire engineering department on my ship in less than two years. Here are six things I learned from that experience.

Be willing to learn.  Many people want to be successful but they just want the success not the work involved.  I love reading and listening to Dr John Maxwell.  I am as much a product of his leadership as any young leader today.  But, I think too many of us want to be giant church leaders because that is the story he spread.  I also believe he will be the first one to warn that you have to be willing to put in the work and learn before you can be a leader.

Be satisfied with where you are, but continue to dream. Don’t mis-read that.  What I am saying is grow where you are.  If you are a genuinely good leader then you should want to help those around you. If you are constantly jumping from church to church it is not a sign of leadership, that is a sign of immaturity.

Read good books.  I read constantly while I was gaining knowledge of the ship. I read schematics, diagrams, and service manuals.  I learned all that I could through the books that were available to me.  If you are going to be a leader, you have got to read the books that will build you up. Your Next Read is a good source to help you find what you need to read next.   Don’t just read books from today, read books that were popular 10, 20, or even 100 years ago.  We don’t have the best books ever written today so look to the past.

Teach others.  Every time I learned one watch station I tried to teach everyone working with me what I knew.  Doing this taught me two things. First, not everyone wants to learn.  I know that’s hard to believe but it is true.  Many people want the success they see you have but they really just want the appearance not the knowledge.   Second, people will get credit for what you do.  Teach others anyway.  What you do makes you a leader, not the praise that comes with it. Never, harbor ill will towards anyone who gets credit for what you do.

Practice Your Craft. I sat in front of consoles and crawled in bilges for hours learning the correct sequence for shutting down the engines, fuel and oil pumps, and every other system in the engine rooms.  Practice makes perfect is not just a good saying, it is a fact.   Practicing being a leader will not make you a leader, but it will make you a better human.

Learn Form those who went before you.  Find someone who is doing what you want to do and latch yourself to them. I followed two men around for those two years and watched everything they did. I sat at the console while they were on watch, I picked their brains for information, and I even began carrying myself and talking like they did.  While I didn’t become them, I put every ounce of effort I could into learning what they knew.

The one thing I learned since then is Learn to listen to Jesus.  I wasn’t a Christian when I was in the Navy, so Jesus never played a role in what I did.  We are bombarded with opportunities daily as leaders so we need to be in tune with Christ and what he is doing on our lives and world so we can discern what he wants us to do.

What can you do today to grow as a leader?  Are you being mature about what is happening around you or to you? Can you see opportunities if they present themselves?