A couple weeks ago I photographed a big event in Texas. As the main photographer, my role was largely to follow around the main speaker, photographing him and anyone connected to him. It was a lot of work… But I learned two really important lessons on life and leadership.

1. Live with Passion. Life is so much better when you care about things, deeply. I’ve found myself not wanting to be hurt, or thought silly, or to be labeled, and so I shut down many things that I care about. The leaders that I watched were labeled, thought silly and I’m sure have been hurt, but they still cared passionately and lived deeply.

2. Go It Alone. When you care passionately, you have to be willing to step out, often alone. I saw that people follow people before they follow a vision or an ideal. Followers want to know that it’s possible and that you (the leader) believe in your vision yourself. If you wait for your vision to become popular opinion before you do something, you’ll never change your world.

Being a leader is never easy, and I think doing so for Christ is even harder, but I believe that God has called us to be his tools to bring hope and change to the people around us.