• the greatest gift leaders can give their people—hope.
• the greatest gift parents can give their children—hope.
• the greatest gift teachers can give their students—hope.
• the greatest gift coaches can give their athletes—hope.

It’s also why . . .

• the greatest gift you can give your family—hope.
• the greatest gift you can give your friends—hope.
• the greatest gift you can give your neighbors—hope.
• the greatest gift you can give your coworkers—hope.

Let me tell you about a recent day. I met for an hour and half with some great people, leaders of a local chain of restaurants. They brought me in to train their executives and employees. What was their number one need? Fresh vision for the future. Where does that come from? Hope.

That was followed by a telephone conversation with an attorney friend from Southern California. He’s a sharp guy and a strong Christian, but his heart is breaking because his son has turned away from his family’s faith and values and is taking some destructive paths. What was that dad’s number one need? He needs the kind of inner strength that only comes to people who have hope.

I then did a Livestream video seminar with leaders from all over the country on how to turn a church from stagnant and declining to thriving. What was the number one need of the leaders of these churches? The kind of creativity and determination that only comes to people who have hope.

I stopped at a gas station and talked with a twenty-four-year-old college dropout who just came back to our area. As we put gas in our cars (a very expensive proposition), he told me he was out of work. What was his number one need? The kind of focus and resolve that only comes to people who have hope.

I wrapped up my day and was driving out of our church parking lot when I saw a poised, professional woman who looked lost. She said she was searching for one of the conference rooms. I asked her which meeting she was attending. She hesitated, embarrassed, then said the DivorceCare seminar. My heart immediately went out to her. I got out of my car and walked her to her class. She turned to me before she walked through the door, and I saw tears streaming down her face. She said, “It’s just really hard.” What is her number one need? Hope. I touched her shoulder and said, “God has better days ahead.”

In my next blog, I’m going to talk about what happens when people lose hope.

YOUR HQ BOOSTER

The greatest gift you or I can give anyone is hope.

The post The Greatest Gift You Can Ever Give appeared first on Hope Quotient.

Several years ago, my daughter, Leslie, came home from school and said, “Dad, I have to write a paper on a leader.”

“Yeah?” I said.

“I picked you, and the teacher said it was okay,” she said.

“Yeah . . .” I said, growing wary.

Without hesitating, she laid it out before me. “I have twenty questions. This is going to be at least a two-hour interview, and you have to answer them all honestly.”

At that, we grabbed our swimsuits and hopped into the hot tub. I thought, Since I’m going to end up in hot water anyway, I might as well start there!

Two hours later, she asked me her last question. It caught me by surprise. Her last question was her best question. And her last question was one of the most profound questions that human beings can ever ask themselves.

“What’s the single most important thing you do as a leader?”

I looked at her and said, “That’s easy. The single most important thing I do is make sure I stay encouraged.”

She looked at me with this blank stare—kind of like, what? Just as you may be looking at this book right now. I explained it to her.

“If I’m not encouraged, eventually nothing else matters.

“If I’m not encouraged, I’ll never be the communicator people who listen to me need me to be.

“If I’m not encouraged, I’ll never be the person I believe God wants me to be.”

I got a little choked up, looked at Leslie, and said, “If I’m not encouraged, I will never be the dad you need me to be.

“If I’m not encouraged, I’ll never be the husband Mom dreams I might be someday.” (Married guys know exactly what I’m talking about.)

Why is this a big deal? Because getting and staying encouraged is everyone’s number one need—whether they know it or not.

In my next blog, I’ll talk about the greatest gift you can ever give.

YOUR HQ BOOSTER

Getting and staying encouraged is everyone’s number one need.

The post The Most Important Question appeared first on Hope Quotient.