Article first published as Book Review: Growing the Leader Within You by Dr. Gayla Holley on Blogcritics.
April 9, 2013
Growing the Leader Within You:
Leveraging Adversity Into Your Success in Life, Work, Leadership and Faith
Dr. Gayla Holley
Aviva Publishing (2013)
ISBN: 9781938686450
Humanitarian Author Offers Amazing Leadership Principles Through Examples
Have you ever thought about being a missionary? I did, but honestly, I don’t think I could take the heat and humidity, the dirt, and most of all, the devastating sadness of seeing so many people in need. But Dr. Gayla Holley has not let these conditions hold her back from making a difference in the world. You may not be able to make the differences she has, but she can go for you to the places where help is needed if you support her and her cause Moms Against Hunger. In Growing the Leader Within You, she tells her extraordinary story of making a difference in the world.
But this book is far more than the life story of a humanitarian. Growing the Leader Within You is about how you can be a leader in many ways, whether it’s as a missionary, as a volunteer, in your business or work, through an organization, as a parent, or in any role you play in life. In these pages, Dr. Gayla tells her stories to serve as examples of leadership. After each story, she points out the leadership principles learned, how you can apply them in your life and leadership role, and she offers questions to ponder that challenge readers into becoming better leaders.
Dr. Gayla’s stories of a childhood on a mission in Liberia, of helping in a hospital as a child, of trying to communicate with the natives who could only speak pidgin English, and of her and her family facing numerous adversities from her father’s plane crash to the threats of snakes and tarantulas, and worst of all, dealing with civil wars and governments who did not know how to help their own people, will leave you breathless, amazed, and in awe of the courage this woman has had in the face of adversities that would have crushed a lesser spirit.
Filled with a heart full of love for those in need and a deep faith in God, Dr. Gayla talks about her commitment to being a humanitarian and a leader who inspires others to become leaders. Dr. Gayla and her husband Bishop Gregory Holley have known plenty of obstacles, but they have never let those obstacles stop them from their mission to serve others. They have known imprisonment, been intimidated by mobs, gone without shoes, and had friends unable to understand why they have gone without luxuries themselves to help others, but their faith and determination have also resulted in being protected by an angel, learning resourcefulness, and learning compassion through their suffering that helped them to help others. Their lives have been ones of continuing evolution toward being greater people by being greater sources of help for others. Their examples are both inspiring and humbling, and Growing the Leader Within You is nothing short of a blessing given to its readers.
Nor has the Holleys’ good work gone unnoticed—the first prime minister of Zimbabwe personally thanked them for all they did for his people, and President George H.W. Bush named them among his One Thousand Points of Light. More importantly, Dr. Gayla encourages and teaches her readers how to become points of light themselves. Will you join her in making a difference in the world? Read Growing the Leader Within You and then decide. I guarantee the stories and lessons inside this book are unforgettable and life-changing.
Dr. Gayla is the founder of Moms Against Hunger. For more information about Gayla Holley and Growing the Leader Within You, visit www.GrowingtheLeaderWithinYou.com.
— Tyler R. Tichelaar, Ph.D. and author of the award-winning “Narrow Lives”
