Tag Archives: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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The Secret To MLK’s Success As A Force For Change (And How You Can Be Too)

3 Reasons Why Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Was Able To Change The Direction Of American Society When Others Had Failed

Every year we celebrate the life and leadership of one of my personal heroes, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His vision of what could be, so eloquently expressed in his famous “I Have A Dream” speech, and his conviction that it should be changed the world forever and made our society a better place.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaking. (Photo by Julian Wasser//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)

But what was the secret to Dr. King’s success? Why was he successful in changing the direction of American society when others had failed?

What Dr. King knew and what many other great leaders have known throughout time is how to employ the most powerful force within us to create change – faith.

Faith is a verb, an action, a muscle within us that must be used in order to be strengthened. When faith is developed, it can be called upon to direct massive action and create lasting change.

Dr. King’s faith was a keenly developed force that helped to bring about one of the greatest cultural shifts in American history. Would you like to have faith like him? Then it’s time to go the gym and learn the 3 exercises that can develop your faith muscles and make them a force for positive change in your world. 

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5 Leadership Lessons From My Visit To Dr. Martin Luther King’s House – Part 2 of 2

In Part 1 of this series, we explored the first two leadership lessons I learned from the life of Dr. Martin Luther King while taking a tour of his old house in Montgomery, Alabama. Today, we’re going to conclude our look into this extraordinary man’s life so that we can continue our own growth into the people of impact and influence we have been made to become.

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Here are numbers 3-5 of the 5 leadership lessons I learned from my visit to this revolutionary leader’s former home: 

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5 Leadership Lessons From My Visit To Dr. Martin Luther King’s House – Part 1 of 2

While road-tripping down I-65 to our family’s vacation destination in Destin, Florida a couple weekends ago, we decided to stop for a look at the former home of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Montgomery, Alabama. Little did I know that it was going to be such an inspiring look into the life of a leader that has always been one of my personal heroes.

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We found the city of Montgomery to be a very quiet place on a Saturday afternoon and were able to locate the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church parsonage where Martin Luther King used to live fairly easily. Tucked away on a neighborhood street, surrounded by houses of like shape and size, was the humble house once inhabited by one of the most influential men in recent history.

What struck me first was the realization that this was really where it all started and shifted. This seemingly insignificant-to-the-naked-eye home was where the seeds of revolution were planted and grew. What an awesome feeling to stand where he stood, walk where he walked, and look upon some of the same scenery that he would have looked upon. It was truly exciting!

While on the tour I gained these 5 tidbits of wisdom from the life of this great leader that, hopefully, will inspire you to greater heights in your leadership as well:

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Are You Pursuing The Right Dream?

Every year, we commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy of leadership and his hard-won battle for the recognition of the civil rights and liberties of African-Americans. I’m always inspired by hearing his famous speech in which he paints a vision of the future he imagined could and should be taking place in our society by starting each line with, “I have a dream.” But would Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream have been made a reality by a guy without his eloquence of speech? His command of language? His ability to persuade others to his cause? His connections in the community? His skills as a leader of a team who was able to organize the effort? The answer would have to be “no.”

"I Have A Dream…"

Today, it seems as though many of us have forgotten how to really dream. Maybe we gave up on our dreams because of some pain or disappointment in our past. Maybe we lost touch with our capacity to dream of a better future than the one we’re living because we stopped exercising our imagination a long time ago. Maybe we went after our dream once and got burned, vowing never to set ourselves up for the pain of that failure again. Or maybe our dreams are being distracted by a fantasy.