Newton once said: If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” I owe acknowledgement to my own giants: author Kobi Yamada and leadership guru Simon Sinek. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “In every work of genius, we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty.” Yamada’s What Do You Do With an Idea and Sinek’s Leaders Eat Last did exactly that for me. Their words resonated with my thoughts and I saw in them the truth and goodness of the real servant leaders I work with every day.

I sat down to write The Cape because I had something to say. I knew the broad topic would be leadership and I knew the principles I wanted to include. I’ve seen many leaders in my life: “good” and “bad,” skilled and unskilled. I’ve seen it done wrong, I’ve seen it done right, and I’ve seen it done everywhere in between. I’ve acted as a leader for years – of a household, of a pharma sales team, and in various direct sales endeavors. I’ve learned from my own mistakes, and have been in situations where, like our little leader, I’ve had to be absolutely clear about where my heart was and needed to be.

These insights into leadership and stewardship are what I wanted to share.

The story came later. But when it came, it flowed. I believe The Cape, was divinely inspired. Through the situation surrounding me, Heaven spoke to me in the form of a little girl and her experience.

Why a cape? Leadership is a mantle and the best leaders I’ve known have had super-heroic potential. Our main character’s flowing red cape embodied these concepts perfectly. Leadership, like the cape, can be a heavy, overwhelming thing at first, but then when you truly realize your stewardship, it inspires and empowers.

My daughter Breighlin helped craft the words into a story. Our brilliant illustrator Glenn Harmon immediately grasped the concept and brought every detail to life in his sketches, and our art director translated the vision onto the page. The Cape was born.

You may notice that our main character doesn’t have a name. This is by design. We wanted to incorporate principles of servant leadership and bridge the divide between leaders and followers, bosses and employees, teachers and students. Because, as you’ll see when you read the book, there’s a little leader living in all of us.

The big question that lingers then, is this:  Will you do what it takes to honor the leader inside you?

We’ve created the story. Now it’s up to you to bring it to life! We launch The Cape on Kickstarter on Monday, October 2. Please contribute and reserve your copies of The Cape today! With a little luck and a lot of support we hope to get this book in your hands and in the hands of the leaders in your life by Christmas.

P.S.: If you see this before Monday at 10:00 a.m. MDT, click here for a chance to be an EARLY BIRD and get 30% off!