On an occasion following a great victory Napoleon was asked how he made his army cross the Alps and he replied, “One does not make an army cross the Alps; one leads it across.”

Whether a boss, a parent, a teacher, or a friend, the most effective way to lead others, to teach others, to motivate others, to train our children and/or to influence others is by example; that is, by who we are, by what we do, and most of all by how much we care about them. In other words, we need to model what we want others to learn and do. We need to lead the way, not by being demanding or controlling, but by showing through both our caring and our doing—by example not by telling.

Furthermore, “People don’t care how much we know until they know how much we care,” and as Carl Jung stated, “Where love rules, there is no will to power, and where power predominates, love is lacking. The one is the shadow of the other.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to teach others your ways, not by my telling them how but by showing them how by my example. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 20:26-27 (NIV).