How important is winning to you? I know I like to win. What’s even more important is how I play the game. The process is key to me.

For many leaders today, life is moving really fast. Contemplating the process of life is not on the top of many leaders “to do” lists. Yet, process is vital in order to do life well and to finish well. To me finishing well implies much more than just a successful career or ministry. How important is life’s process to you?

Whether you’re a “Mac or PC,” the recent passing of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs at the age of fifty-six from pancreatic cancer provides a salient moment of reflection for any organizational leader.

Jobs’ legacy and impact on the world is likely to stretch far into the future compared to the brief thirty-five years of his professional career, which took seed in his family’s garage when the idea of Apple was planted with Stephen Wozniak in 1976.

Several months ago, I published an ebook called Creating Your Personal Life Plan. I made it available as a free PDF download for readers who subscribed to my blog via email. So far more than 30,000 people have done so.

However, I have had numerous requests to make the book available in Kindle, Nook, and iBook formats. Unfortunately, the original landscape cover didn’t convert well to portrait. This has required me to reformat the ebook.

Sometimes we think our world is set in concrete, that to alter it means wielding sledge hammers and heavy equipment. Particularly on the web, we feel stuck in the persona we’ve shared with our cyber-friends.

Here’s a joyful, scary, invitational truth, though: God is always at work.

Several weeks ago, I had the privilege of hosting the Chick-fil-A Leadercast Backstage program. I interviewed several notable authors as they came off the stage, including John Maxwell, Seth Godin, Sir Ken Robinson, Dan Cathy, Suzy Welch, Frans Johansson, and several others. I thought I would share these with you over the next several weeks.

In this interview, I talk to Dan Cathy, President and COO of Chick-fil-A. He is the son of S. Truett Cathy, who founded the company in 1946. I met Dan a few years ago, and we had immediate rapport. We shared the same values and interest in leadership. He embodies Chick-fil-A’s customer-centric business model. He has since become a friend and mentor.

As I interviewed him, we talked about several topics, including:

What if work wasn’t just work? What if work was a vehicle to live and share a bigger purpose?

I believe there’s a flawed perception in our society that in order to live a life of purpose we have to leave our jobs and go solve world hunger, feed the homeless, move to Africa, or start a charity.

As a book mentor, I’ve read plenty of passionless prose. And as a fellow pilgrim, I’ve listened to many people who shyly look away when I ask them what their passion is. Why is that? I have a hunch that many of us have a hard time identifying our passion. Why? Several reasons:

• Our insecurities define us more than our hidden, suppressed dreams.
• We are afraid to boast.
• We see the vastness of the world and feel insignificant or overwhelmed to make a difference.

Continuing in my series of “20 Leadership Questions,” we come to the sixth question that Michael Smith asked when he interviewed me. This one is related to something very near and dear to me.

Several weeks ago, I had lunch with a friend I hadn’t seen in years. He had just turned eighty years old. His mind was as sharp as ever—witty, inquisitive, and focused. He was also a great listener. When he did speak, wisdom dripped from his lips like honey.