No one says being a leader is easy. You are called to charge ahead when others are standing still. You have to make tough choices and deliver hard messages. You are told not to take things personally.

But eventually, when you’re passionate about what you do, that becomes virtually impossible (though many leaders may not admit it). When you’re completely engaged in your work – whether you’re a corporate, faith or community leader – you can’t compartmentalize work and life. I know this to be true. You take home the good days and the bad. Balance becomes an illusion, and work shifts into a way of life alongside our being, an ebb and flow in one direction or the other depending on the urgency at that moment.

When I think of these leaders, a poem by John Wesley comes to mind:

“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”

While their style may not suit everyone, these leaders who live and breathe their passion day in and day out inspire us. They are on fire. Their enthusiasm sparks our imaginations and lights a path that leads us toward our destiny. Imagination, harnessed by fiery leaders, has the ability to ignite our passions that will transform the trajectory of a generation.