You can build an empire, but if it dies with you, you failed. Discover the biological law of leadership that determines whether your influence lives or dies.
Jeremy Haroldson opens a new series on Legacy of Leadership with a confronting truth: Biology dictates that everything reproduces after its own kind. If an organism stops reproducing, it is classified as dying or dead. The same is true for leadership.
In this session, Jeremy diagnoses the "Terminal Generation" mindset—leaders who consume resources but fail to prepare a successor. Whether you are running a business, a ministry, or a family, this teaching forces you to ask: "Is my leadership a cul-de-sac or a highway?"
Jeremy uses a powerful geographical metaphor. The Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea are fed by the same river (Jordan). The Galilee is teeming with life because it has an inlet and an outlet. The Dead Sea is dead because it has an inlet but no outlet.
"If you only receive but never give, you become toxic." Leaders who hoard authority, knowledge, and opportunity become stagnant. The health of your leadership is determined by your outflow, not just your inflow.
This is the hard pill to swallow. "There is no success without a successor." You can have record profits, massive attendance, or huge influence—but if it collapses the moment you step away, you didn't build a legacy; you built an ego monument.
True leadership is measured by what happens in your absence. Are you raising people who can do what you do, or are you making yourself indispensable? "Indispensability is a liability, not an asset."
Why do leaders fail to reproduce? Insecurity.
Jeremy exposes the hidden fear: "If I train them, they might be better than me. They might take my spot." An insecure leader puts a lid on their team to protect their own position. A secure leader (a spiritual father/mother) wants their ceiling to be the next generation's floor. "A father wants his son to go further than him." You have to kill your ego to birth a legacy.
This is a warning. You don't reproduce what you *want*; you reproduce what you *are*. "If you are a critical leader, you will raise critical followers. If you are a generous leader, you will raise generous followers."
Before you try to reproduce, you need to check your DNA. Are you healthy enough to multiply? Legacy amplifies your traits—both the good and the bad. Fix the prototype before you go into mass production.
Stop being a reservoir and start being a river. The moment you begin to pour into someone else, fresh water starts flowing into you.
Jeremy's challenge: Identify one person today who you can begin to mentor. It doesn't have to be formal. Just start sharing what you know. Open the outlet. Break the "Dead Sea" cycle and watch your own leadership come back to life.
Perfect for:
You don't need to be a finished product to be a guide. You just need to be a few steps ahead. In fact, waiting until you are "perfect" is a trap. Share your current lessons, including your failures. Authenticity reproduces better than perfection.
By redefining your win. If your win is "being the star," you will always fear replacement. If your win is "building the team," then replacement is actually victory. Shift your identity from Player to Coach. The coach wins when the players score.
It is a generation that lives for itself. They consume the inheritance of the past and borrow from the future, leaving nothing for those who follow. It is a mindset of consumption rather than stewardship. Reproductive leadership breaks this cycle.
Key Scripture Reference: Genesis 1:24
"And God said, 'Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds...' And it was so."