A Leadership Reflection on Legacy, Stewardship, and the Formula That Endures
The Restless Sauna
It was 11.15 p.m. on 19 August 2025. Earlier that evening, I had been in the sauna with Samuel, my co-author for Lead to Impact. Tomorrow we would meet our editor, yet I could not shake a heavy discomfort.
Samuel asked me a question. It was not because he did not know the answer. It was because he wanted to hold up a mirror. He asked, “Why do we want to write this book?”
At first, I felt unsettled. The question pulled me out of routine and into reflection. Why did I want to write? Was it about image? Was it about influence? Or had I forgotten the original purpose?
That moment in the sauna forced me to revisit the roots.
First, I knew I had to practice what I preached. I have always encouraged others to write, to capture their reflections, to leave a trace of wisdom. If I did not do the same, my words would be hollow.
Second, I believed writing was a superpower. I once read those exact words before I ever began. I obeyed the idea without testing it. Then I tested it. Writing became my way of holding clarity in the palm of my hands. More than 200 reflections later, I had proof. Some of my writings embarrassed me, but others inspired even me. Writing turned into my daily practice, my way of closing a day with clarity.
Third, I saw that we needed a playbook. Scaling any organization without a written culture leads to drift. For Stellar, we needed a leadership framework not imported from elsewhere but customized to our DNA. Lead to Impact was to be that playbook.
And yet, despite these reasons, I still felt restless. Something was missing. The framework worked on paper: Look inward. Equip with tools. Act at both personal and corporate levels. Discipleship legacy. It made sense. But what exactly is impact? Was I clear enough? Was I anchoring the book in something weighty enough to last?
That restless question became the doorway.
Marriage as Multiplication
Earlier that day, during devotion with the team, I asked another question: “What is the meaning of marriage?”
It is not a question a single person can answer. Marriage is transformation. It is like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly.
Marriage is not addition. It is multiplication. Two individuals do not just live together. They form a family, and a family multiplies into community. Marriage multiplies values, shapes culture, and creates legacies that ripple into generations.
Think of the home as more than walls. When a couple chooses to open their home, it becomes a place of gathering. Friends sit at the table. Children’s laughter fills the room. Neighbors find belonging. In the early church, homes became sanctuaries. Living rooms became places of discipleship. Community multiplied one life at a time.
It is the mustard seed principle. Something small, almost invisible, grows into a tree large enough to give shelter and shade. Marriage, when multiplied through openness and community, becomes a seed that grows into a forest of legacy.
Marriage proves the principle: impact is multiplication, not addition.
The House-Buying Season
In the same season, many of our team were buying houses. At first glance, it looked like simple addition: one family buys one house. But as I listened, I realised it was more.
Owning a house forced people to re-evaluate their lifestyle. Carefree spending gave way to careful stewardship. Some confessed they felt poorer because commitments replaced indulgence. But when asked whether they would return to the old lifestyle, most said no. They wanted the growth that came with the burden.
And then I saw something more. From just two families stepping into home ownership, hundreds were blessed. Opportunities, awareness, and courage multiplied. And now, as 40 families step forward, thousands will be touched.
This is multiplication through community. Houses are not just property. They are platforms for people. A home can be a place for neighbors to gather, children to learn, discipleship to flourish. In some traditions, these are called home churches, families opening living rooms for worship, teaching, and belonging. What begins as a handful multiplies into powerful community, one life at a time.
It is also the ripple effect. Drop one stone into water and waves spread outward far beyond the point of entry. Two families bought houses. The ripples blessed hundreds. Forty families entered the season. The ripples will reach thousands. Impact, like ripples, multiplies far beyond what the eye can first see.
Impact is not bigger houses. It is multiplied awareness, multiplied responsibility, and multiplied blessing through community.
The Inner Circle
That morning, our devotion was on the inner circle. Too often, people confuse inner circle with best friends. But they are not the same.
The biblical example is Moses. When God called him to lead, Moses felt inadequate. His response was not to hide but to build an inner circle. Aaron became his spokesman. Jethro became his advisor. Joshua became his successor. Each multiplied his capacity.
An inner circle is not just support. It is the nucleus of community. One leader becomes many. Together, they multiply vision, responsibility, and resilience. Moses’ leadership outlived him because his community carried it forward.
Impact always requires community. Without it, a leader’s effort ends in addition. With it, the mission multiplies into movements.
The Formula of Impact
From these reflections, the convergence became clear. Impact is not addition. It is multiplication. And the formula is simple:
Impact = Identity × Purpose × Multiplication
- Identity: Who am I? Without clarity here, you multiply confusion.
- Purpose: Why am I here? Without clarity here, you multiply noise.
- Multiplication: Who carries this forward? Without this, you only add, never multiply.
This formula explained my restlessness. I was trying to write a book without finalizing the multiplication anchor. Identity and purpose were present. Multiplication was not yet defined.
The Four Scenarios of Impact
The best way to test a framework is to run it through history. Impact can be negative, normal, positive, or extraordinary.
Negative Impact: Multiplying Destruction
Adolf Hitler had powerful multiplication. Millions followed. But his identity was broken and his purpose was twisted. The multiplication only spread destruction. The formula holds: wrong multiplied is catastrophic.
Normal Impact: Addition That Ends With You
Consider a brilliant surgeon who saves lives daily. His identity is strong, his purpose is clear. But he never teaches, mentors, or multiplies his skills. When he retires, the impact retires with him. Anything multiplied by zero becomes zero. Impact dies at addition.
Positive Impact: Inspiring Yet Bounded
Mother Teresa rooted her identity in compassion and her purpose in serving the poorest. She multiplied through her order and inspired the world. The impact was lasting, but bounded by her movement. It was positive, but not generationally systemic.
Extraordinary Impact: Multiplication Across Generations
Jesus, viewed through a leadership lens, was clear in identity and transcendent in purpose. His multiplication strategy was not mass crowds but deep investment in twelve, who multiplied into seventy, then into hundreds, and eventually into billions. Two thousand years later, the impact is alive. Multiplication is the secret.
The Reverse Insight
The greatest danger is not failure. The greatest danger is normal impact. To succeed in your lifetime but leave nothing that endures beyond it.
Leaders often think of impact as achievements, positions, or possessions. But if those do not multiply, they vanish.
Impact that multiplies flows from identity rooted in truth, purpose anchored in meaning, and multiplication entrusted to community. It begins small, like a mustard seed. It spreads far, like ripples on water. It happens one life at a time.
The opposite of impact is not failure. The opposite of impact is irrelevance.
A Call to Reflection
Every leader must answer three questions:
- Who am I? (Identity)
- Why am I here? (Purpose)
- Who will continue this through me? (Multiplication)
If any one of these is missing, impact collapses. If all three align, legacy compounds.
So what is impact? It is multiplication, not addition. It is community, not isolation. It is discipleship, not performance. And it always begins small, like a seed, rippling outward one life at a time.
