By Becca Kohlmyer, CIU Student Writer
Columbia International University’s Shortess Chapel was flooded with familiar faces and strangers alike, all coming to hear a famed leadership consultant. Jon Gordon, who is known for his successful business model centered around positivity, speaks across the country to football teams and businesses alike. On March 6, he came to CIU to speak on the power of positivity at the annual Leadership Summit.
Gordon began by telling the story of his upbringing in New York and his family history to draw out the idea that positivity is not natural but a mindset that leaders and cultures must choose. After being weighed down by negativity in college, he says, “I found true positivity. I found true faith, the real source of it: a positive and loving God.”
He used his platform to preach positivity and share how anyone can be a leader and impact people in a positive way using the “FUEL” acronym. The FUEL method involves Feeding positivity every day, Uplifting the mind and soul on a daily basis, Encouraging others and yourself, and Loving others, yourself, and the moment. He emphasized each person’s individual power to transform their environment with their mindset, saying, “inside of us we have the power to transform this world, make earth like heaven, and impact this world.”
Gordon then discussed putting FUEL into action through the “Three C’s”: Communicate, Connect, and Care. He points out the value of good, positive communication for team-building, sharing examples of how lack of communication can ruin a team. Connection, or oneness, relies on trust, which is built through commitment in both the big things and the little things. Finally, he encourages his listeners to be intentional and make time to care, giving an example of how God worked in his life when he took the time to care for someone else. He concluded with a call to continue his mission of positivity and impacting others.
CIU student Landon Battermann said afterward that Gordon’s message reminded him of Jesus’ model of servant leadership.
“I believe that being a person of peace, joy, and positivity in the midst of a world that tends to be negative and complaining is important,” Batterman said. “I think we can all learn more about how to do that and be a better light for Christ in the world.”
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