"An old preacher . . . told a group of younger preachers to remember that they would die. 'They are going to put you in a box,' he said, 'and put the box in the ground, and throw dirt on your face, and then go back to the church and eat potato salad"

Doug Wilson reviews Al Mohler's new book on leadership, The Conviction to Lead:

Leadership is endurance. Leadership measures the time, and evaluates the days. How would it be possible for a good basketball coach not watch the clock? All leaders will die, and so all leaders should prepare their legacies in advance. My favorite line in the book spoke to this point. "An old preacher . . . told a group of younger preachers to remember that they would die. 'They are going to put you in a box,' he said, 'and put the box in the ground, and throw dirt on your face, and then go back to the church and eat potato salad" (p. 203). And Mohler quotes one of my favorite commonplaces from Charles De Gaulle to the effect that graveyards are full of indispensible men. 

For any one currently in a position of leadership, or anyone who aspires to a position of leadership, this book is a necessity.

Read the rest.