If You Stop Learning, You Start Losing

One sentence can fracture a family, a team, or an entire kingdom. That’s why I’m leaning into a hard leadership lesson from the Old Testament: Rehoboam had a crown, resources, and a legendary father, yet he “forsook the counsel” that could have saved his people and his legacy. I use his story to talk about the kind of leadership that actually keeps your life from falling apart when pressure hits. 

For me, the hinge is teachability. Real spiritual leadership starts when I let Jesus Christ influence me first, and that takes humility. We talk about how continuous revelation only works when I stay open to correction, how confidence can masquerade as inspiration, and why the moment I think I’ve arrived is often the moment my growth slows down. I also contrast stubbornness with gospel courage: the courage to repent, apologize, forgive, and change direction when the Lord shows me I’m standing in the wrong place. 

To make it practical, I share an aviation picture I love: we don’t wait until we’re miles off course to correct, we make constant small adjustments and deviate around known danger. Then I close with a servant leadership challenge modeled by King Benjamin and perfected by Jesus Christ: choose one relationship that matters and ask, “How can I serve more?” If you find this helpful, subscribe, share it with a friend who leads, and leave a review with the one question you’re taking into this week.

Transcript

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Welcome

Welcome Back And Leveling Up

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back. I know it's been a week. I was traveling, went to a conference, learned some amazing things, broke some new levels, some new bound, not new boundaries, so much as learned the things necessary to step up to the next level. And that's what we're all working for, right? We all want to level up. So I was going through our lesson for for this last week in the Bible, Old Testament, and there's a great opportunity to learn. There's always an opportunity to learn from the Bible. And so we're going to talk a little bit about leadership and how you can keep your own life from falling apart. That's what we're going to talk about today. God rarely asks us to become extraordinary leaders overnight. He simply asks us to become teachable disciples every day. This is Todd Talks, Spirit by Design, where I'll help you design the life that you desire. And know that the life that you desire, spiritually, as well as the rest of your life, is available to you. All you have to do is put in the effort, put in the work. That, and you have to ask. How many times in the scriptures does he say, ask and it shall be given you, knock and it shall be opened unto you? It's a lot. So

Leadership Starts With Teachability

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as we journey through the lives of Rehobim, King Benjamin, and Jesus Christ, one truth has become unmistakably clear. Leadership is first about allowing Jesus Christ to influence us. Every disciple is both a leader and a follower. We lead others, but first we choose who we will follow. The greatest leaders in Scripture were great because they first became faithful followers of God. That is why the next Christ-like attribute may be one of the most important of them all. Teachability. You know, I've talked many times about a student that I had that I wrote up pages and pages of negative feedback and turned it in and said, this guy does not need to become an aircraft manager. He does not need to be in charge of other people's lives. Why? Because he wasn't teachable at all. Until he was humbled. And then a couple years later, I was able to tell the same commander, okay, he's ready now. But he had to be humble first. And it's part of the heart. It comes from the heart.

Rehoboam And The Cost Of Pride

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One of the saddest verses in the is the in the Old Testament is the story of Rehobam. Rehoboam, however you say that. Um it's very short. The scriptures simply tell us that he forsook the counsel of the old men. There is an eternal lesson hidden in that phrase. He stopped learning. He assumed that having the crown meant he had all the answers. How easy is it for us to make the same mistake? I just went through a course on investing and mindset and mindfulness and spirituality, and I'm learning from people both older and younger than me. Teachability. If I ignore the rules, if I ignore the lessons that others have already learned, just because I want to do it my own way, I'll fall. I'll fail. Right? Sometimes we mistake experience for wisdom. Sometimes we mistake confidence for revelation. Sometimes we mistake being successful yesterday for being teachable today.

Humility That Hears Revelation

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The Restored Gospel teaches that revelation is continuous. President Russell and Nelson has repeatedly invited us to hear him. Not him, but Jesus Christ. That invitation wasn't given only to prophets and apostles, it was given to every covenant disciple. To hear him, we must first be willing to admit that there is still more to learn. I know I have a lot more to learn. I have a long way to go. And the moment that I believe, or you believe, that we've arrived spiritually is often the moment that our spiritual growth slows down. Can't help it. You're either A great phrase I heard this week was you're either growing or you're dying. You see, revelation, the way God likes to teach us, is requires humility. One of the reasons humility is so precious is because if we're not humble, we can't hear him. Think about the pattern in scripture. When young Samuel heard the voice of the Lord, he responded, Speak for thy servant heareth. When Nephi was asked to accomplish something impossible, build a ship with his bare hands, having lived in Jerusalem and never been a seafaring person, he didn't say, Oh, I know how. He didn't say, I gotcha, I got this. Instead, he said, I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded. When young Joseph Smith was confused by conflicting religious voices, he didn't assume he possessed all the truth. He asked, Lord, what is true? Every one of those examples begins with humility. Every one begins with someone acknowledging their need before God. That is teachability. Another

Courage To Repent And Change

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attribute that Rehoboam lacked was courage. At first that may sound surprising. Didn't he boldly stand before the nation? Didn't he confidently reject the people's request? Yes. But courage in the gospel is different from stubbornness. Sometimes the greatest courage isn't standing your ground. Sometimes it's changing your ground, your soul, your heart, your mind when the Lord reveals you're standing in the wrong place. Repentance requires enormous courage. Apologizing requires courage. Forgiving others and yourself requires courage. Overcoming the grief that you didn't know that you have requires courage. It requires letting go of the past. Admitting I am wrong requires courage. President Dieter F. Uchdorf once observed that the gospel is not for people who are perfect. It is for people who are willing to be to keep changing. That is deeply encouraging. God doesn't expect fearless leaders, flawless leaders. He does expect fearless leaders, not flawless. He seeks repentant, humble leaders. See, daily repentance is one of the most important things that I've come to uh come to know. I need it. Because otherwise, I'm dying, right? Not only because we're failing, is repentance important daily. But because we're growing. We're either growing or dying. We don't

Tiny Corrections Keep You Flying

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wait until the airplane is miles off course before we correct back to course. In aviation. We have hundreds of tiny corrections throughout the flight. We're getting ready to go fly now. 3,000 miles almost. 2,500 miles. There'll be a lot of corrections in there, or deviations, or changes in heading to get around weather. Think about that. We deviate around stuff that we know is gonna be bad for us. That's equivalent to taking yourself out of a bad situation and not going there. Corrections are constant. Spiritually, repentance is the same. It isn't a sign that we've crashed. The evidence that we're it's evidence that we're still flying towards Jesus Christ. Imagine if paused before answering the people. Imagine if he had prayed one more time. Imagine if he had returned to the older counselors and said, I've been thinking about your advice. Tell me more. That one act of humility might have rewritten history. The good news is that your story and mine is still being written. We're allowed to change course. Because of Jesus Christ, our next decision can always be better, better than our last one.

Daily Questions For Christlike Leaders

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So as we bring this epitome towards its conclusion, if you haven't read the story of Rehoboam, it's in the Old Testament, and uh look it up. Before you end each day, ask yourself, did I seek the Lord before making important decisions? Did I listen more than I spoke? Did I carry someone else's burden? Was I quick to repent when I recognized a mistake? Did I make someone feel seen, valued, and loved? Did my words bring peace or contention? Did I point others toward Christ or toward myself? If we honestly ask those questions every evening, the Holy Ghost will become our greatest leadership mentor. You may never rule a nation. You may never stand before thousands of people as King Benjamin did. You may never wear a crown. In fact, most of us won't. But make no mistake, you are building a kingdom. Every conversation lays another stone. Every act of kindness strengthens another wall. Every selfish choice creates a crack. Your kingdom may look like marriage. It may look like children gathered around a dinner table. It may look like a Sunday school class, it may look like a cockpit, an office, a neighborhood, or a circle of close friends. Whatever form it takes, your leadership will leave a legacy. The question is, will that legacy resemble Rehoboam's or will it resemble Jesus Christ's? The master never asked for a throne. As I reflected on this, I'm struck by one contrast. Rehoboam inherited a throne and tried to protect it. Jesus left the throne to save us. Rehoboam increased the people's burdens. Jesus declared, My yoke is easy and my burden is life. Rehoboam lost the kingdom because he demanded to be served. Jesus Christ gained an eternal kingdom because he chose to serve. That's the paradox of the gospel. Those who seek honor often lose influence, while those who serve seek to serve, are trusted with eternal influence. I'm

Servant Leadership Modeled By Jesus

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a firm believer in servant leadership. Pattern your leadership after Jesus Christ, and you can't go wrong. The Savior's life proves that the road to exaltation always passes through consecration. So this week I invite you to perform a single experiment. It may be your spouse, your child, a co-worker, a neighbor, a member of your ward, but choose one relationship that matters deeply to you. Or perhaps it's your relationship with the Lord. Instead of asking, how can I get more from this relationship? Ask, how can I serve more in this relationship? I'm gonna do that myself. Then act on the first prompting you receive, write the note, make the phone call, offer the apology, give the compliment, listen without interrupting, pray with someone, forgive someone, visit someone, encourage someone. You may discover that the greatest leadership opportunities are almost never dramatic. They're usually quiet, personal, hidden, and profoundly Christ-like. Brothers and sisters, friends and fellow disciples, the world doesn't need more impressive leaders. It needs more Christ-like leaders, servant leaders. Leaders who are humble enough to learn, meek enough to listen, courageous enough to repent, loving enough to serve, and faithful enough to follow Jesus Christ. Rehoboam reminds us of how quickly pride can divide a kingdom. King Benjamin teaches how humility can unite a people. Jesus Christ shows us the perfect pattern. May we choose his pattern every day. May our homes become places where burdens are lifted rather than increase. May our callings become opportunities to minister rather than to be recognized. And may our influence draw people closer to the Savior. And may we remember that the most important kingdom we will ever lead is the one in our own hearts. If Christ reigns in our hearts, every other aspect of our leadership will begin to reflect his life. Thank you for watching. Thank you for listening, and thank you for spending the time with me on Todd Taught Spirit by Design. Till next time, keep designing your spirit after the Fathering of Jesus Christ, because when he is the King in your heart, you'll discover that true greatness has never been about standing above others. It's always been about keeping kneeling beside them, helping them rise and walking together toward him. And for those that don't know the story of Rehaboam, he was one of the kings of Israel that drove the greatest leadership failures recorded in Scripture.

One Conversation That Split A Kingdom

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It didn't happen because of a military defeat. It was cause wasn't caused by economic collapse, and it wasn't because God lacked power. And the entire kingdom fractured because he refused to listen. The son of King Solomon, the wisest king who ever lived, fractured kingdom. Think about that. Imagine growing up with every possible advantage. The greatest kingdom on earth, unlimited resources, the best education, a father renowned for wisdom, and within days of becoming king, Rohboam lost ten of the twelve tribes of Israel. One conversation changed history. So this is the first of a couple leadership talks that I'm gonna talk about Brohoboam because he failed spectacularly. Hope you enjoyed it, and we'll talk later. Have a blessed day.