Hungry for More: The Power of Passionate Intention
The most effective and powerful speakers speak from their heart, drawing on personal stories to amplify their message. And they connect with their audience, leaving them hungry for more.
But how?
They connect with their audience because they speak with passionate intention. This special gift allows them to speak with the authority and power that can only be fueled by the authority and power of our Creator.
A few years ago, I delivered a keynote for an international leadership conference. During the conference, I met many wonderful people, including a woman whose legacy intersected with mine. From the moment I met her, she felt like a sister. Throughout the conference, I knew her only as Konji. Afterward, I learned that she was a prominent physician, well known for her HIV/AIDS work in South Africa. Now she was the South African Ambassador to Switzerland.
In the short time that I spent in her humble and remarkable presence, Dr. Konji Sebati invited me to speak at an event that she would host the following year. In her role as Ambassador, she was planning a tribute to honor the women whose anti-apartheid protests struck early chords in the death knell that would eventually lead to the dismantling of South Africa’s apartheid government.
Without hesitation, I accepted her invitation, instinctively recognizing a deep kinship with a cause that is oblivious to time or place, for injury and injustice anywhere is injury and injustice everywhere. And so is victory and joy.
When I asked her, “Why me?” she said, “Because you are so passionate. When you spoke about your life in the segregated South, your stories were so vivid and moving. Yet you showed no trace of bitterness or hatred.” Then half-jokingly, she asked, “Are you sure you aren’t from South Africa?” I smiled, knowing that soul is no respecter of place, knowing the power of passionate intention.
The following summer, I had the privilege to present the opening address at the tribute to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the South African Women’s March on the Government Buildings in Pretoria.
I shared the dais with many dignitaries, including Dr. Sebati and Dr. Ruth Mompati, one of the co-organizers of that historic march. Now in her mid-eighties, she looked like a woman several decades younger. Standing strong with a regal crown of snow-white hair, she spoke about her experience, about the lonely, necessary, and arduous assignments of leadership.
I asked what gave her and her South African sisters the conviction and courage to carry out such a subversive and dangerous mission. She looked at me as I imagined she must have looked at the women whose hearts she galvanized with her powerful voice and great soul so many years ago.
With fire in her eyes and ferocity in her voice, she said, “Courage? We did not need courage!! We organized and sacrificed, we were humiliated and persecuted, we went to prison and were exiled, we risked our lives and lost some along the way—not because we had courage. Oh, no. We simply did what we HAD to do.
We stood up and pushed back against the white apartheid government because we were mothers! And we didn’t want our children to endure the dehumanizing disrespect and degradation that we had to endure.”
Her passion was positively electrifying.
As Dr. Mompati spoke, coming through her I heard the voice of God. And I understood how she and the other leaders roused over 100,000 people to stand up for justice, a charge that ultimately changed the course of history in South Africa and beyond.
That’s the power of passionate intention.
When you speak with passionate intention, you will connect with your audience because you are infused with the authority and power of God. And you will leave your audience hungry—for more of Him and for more of you.
About The Author
Gloria Burgess is an inspirational speaker, best-selling author, and a featured writer for the John Maxwell Team blog.
About 20 years ago, she left her corporate career to launch her leadership consulting and executive coaching company. She loves nothing more than inspiring organizations and individuals to dig deeper, reach higher, and achieve the impossible.
The author of several books on leadership and legacy, Gloria is a member of the John Maxwell Team.
Contact Gloria at: http://www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/gloriaburgess/