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Rick Warren
Who is he? If you have gotten hold of his international best seller Purpose Driven Life as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago, you know this guy. Rick Warren is, first and foremost, the founder and lead pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California. He first became popular among pastors all over the world through his book Purpose Driven Church. Early this decade, his book The Purpose Driven Life became an international best seller selling 40 million copies worldwide. He is a passionate leader, teacher and innovator. His passion is to teach young leaders and minister to the poor through his P.E.A.C.E Plan.

How has he created an impact in my life? My first encounter with Rick Warren is through his book Purpose Driven Church. During that time, I was a discontented member of the church where I grew up . I find no purpose in going to church. I see church as a boring place, an activity with no meaning except for pleasing an angry God. Through his book, I learned that church can be exciting, relevant and life changing. I started to dream of a church where people are excited to come to, lives are being changed and everything from music to the message to the weekday activities are culturally relevant. I should say that our church in Makati, Grace Place, is a product of that dream.

What I learned from him? Aside from the dream that he helped developed in me, I learned a very important leadership principle from Rick Warren: Its not about me. These very words are the very first words of his PDL book. It is, by nature, our goal to protect ourselves, to do things to satisfy ourselves. But if we'll discover the very purpose of our life, we'll realize that it should all start with God. It's not about me, it's all about Him. Then it goes down to the people around. It's not about me, it's about others that I should take care of as God would. This very principle is not only applicable in leadership, but also a great starting point in our quest in finding the purpose of our life.

How has Rick Warren helped you discover your life's purpose?