Finding Your Why and Leading With Courage
Lessons from Leadership Lifter Talk with Bishop Dale Bronner
Every leader reaches a point in the journey where the questions grow louder than the answers. Why am I here? What is God asking of me? How do I lead well when the path isn’t clear?
These questions aren’t a sign of weakness—they are an invitation. And in my recent conversation with Bishop Dale Bronner, he reminded us that discovering your “why” is not a lightning strike moment. It’s not always dramatic. More often, it’s revealed in the steady pull you can’t ignore… the thing that wakes you up at night, stirs your spirit, and refuses to let you quit.
Your purpose is usually found in the very things that burden your heart.
Your Why Is Calling You
Bishop Bronner explained it this way:
“A dream isn’t what you see when you sleep. It’s what keeps you from sleeping.”
Purpose doesn’t hide from us; it follows us. It keeps resurfacing in the conversations we keep having… the work that energizes us… the problems that frustrate us because we know they can be better.
And sometimes, purpose is hiding in your skill.
Before God gave Adam a wife, He gave him work.
Before destiny came definition.
Before assignment came ability.
Some leaders are chasing their passion but neglect the skill God has already put in their hands. Your why is discovered when passion and skill finally meet.
Entrepreneurs Are Pathfinders
Bishop Bronner said something every marketplace leader should write down:
“A leader is a path finder.”
Entrepreneurs are not imitators. They’re explorers. They walk into unreached territory with a pocket of faith and a handful of courage. They don’t have a manual. They learn along the way. They figure it out as they move.
But he also shared a crucial principle:
Don’t start by working for yourself. Start by working faithfully for someone else.
God uses those seasons to shape character, discipline, and understanding. What feels like “just a job” is often on-the-job training for your calling. Your future company is being formed while you’re stewarding someone else’s.
The Secret to Building Loyal Teams
Leadership doesn’t rise on talent—it rises on trust.
If you want people to follow you, here’s the key:
Value them. Develop them. Believe in them.
People grow where they are appreciated.
They stay where they are invested in.
And they thrive where they are believed in.
One business owner once told Bishop Bronner, “I don’t want to train people and have them leave.”
He replied, “What’s worse is to keep them and not have them trained.”
Great leaders enlarge people, and God sends new talent in return. People are not a burden. They’re a seed.
When Leaders Hit Plateaus
Every leader faces seasons where momentum feels stuck. Vision dulls. Progress slows. Energy fades.
So what do you do?
You elevate the level of exposure in your life.
You cannot crave what you have never seen.
You cannot pursue what you have never imagined.
Exposure expands appetite. Appetite expands vision. Vision expands capacity.
If you want to lead differently, you must see differently.
Why Every Leader Needs a Personal Board of Directors
Bishop Bronner teaches that coaching and mentoring are different:
Coaches sharpen what you do.
Mentors shape who you are.
Both matter.
Every business has a board of directors.
Your life should have one too.
Build a circle of 3–4 people who strengthen you in specific areas:
A financial voice
A family or relationship voice
A health and lifestyle voice
A spiritual or character voice
Leadership is never a solo act. Accountability isn’t a restriction—it’s a strategy.
Failure Is Not Your Identity
One of the most liberating truths from our conversation was this:
Failure is not the opposite of success. It's a part of success.
You didn’t fail because you’re unworthy.
You failed because you’re learning.
Children fall when they walk, but they never stay down. Neither should we.
Failure is an event, not a name tag.
It teaches. It sharpens. It prepares.
And for leaders, it becomes the soil where wisdom grows.
Stepping Into Your Why
Wherever you are on the journey—building, rebuilding, or just beginning—my prayer is that you see God’s hand in every step. You are not wandering; you are being formed. Purpose is not far from you. It is already waking you up, stirring your heart, and shaping your future.
Keep growing.
Keep leading.
Keep lifting others with you.
Your “why” is calling, and by God’s grace, you will walk it out.
Listen to the full conversation with Bishop Dale Bronner on the Leadership Lifter Podcast on YouTube or on davidblunt.org