Introduction
Historical figures have been known to shape the lives of many people hence causing an influence to them. The leaders are remembered either by their political influence or religious influence. There are so many of them but in this paper, we shall look at two historical figures; Barrack Obama and Joel Osteen.
Barrack Obama
Barrack Obama started his political career as early as 1996 when he was elected as a State Senator in Illinois (Price, 2009). His main achievement as a senator was reforming the ethical and health laws and looking after the welfare of the low-income earners when he sponsored a law that sought to increase tax credits.
He however resigned in 2004 when he was elected to the U.S Senate. He was inaugurated as the 44th and the 1st African American president in 2009 and is still running the office to date. He has already achieved a lot in this short period that he has been in office and will be remembered by many.
Among the notable achievements is his reversed ban that had been directed by President George Bush on federal funding establishments that permitted abortion and withdrawal from Iraq the U.S military troops (Wheeler, 2009). Obama has also been on the forefront in the fight to end the Iraq and Afghanistan war.
Joel Osteen
He is a religious leader who took over Lakewood Church in 1999 after the death of his father. He travels all over the nation spreading the word of God and he reaches over five million viewers in over 100 media coverage. He has transformed a lot of people’s lives with his message (Lanham, 2008).
He is also the best selling author and he has sold million copies of his books in America and abroad; he was included in the list of the ‘ten most fascinating people’ by Barbara Walter. He has reached to the less fortunate in the society and he will be remembered mostly in his generous contributions and inspirational teachings to them (Young, 2007).
Comparisons and Contrast between Barrack Obama and Joel Osteen
The only notable contrast in their type of leadership is that while Obama involves himself in politics, Osteen is a religious leader. They have similar leadership styles in that they have both been termed as ‘life coach.’ Thy have a wide scope of influence in their leadership as seen in by their following. Obama for example is said to have won the senator’s seat with 70% vote and Osteen on the other hand has over 5 million followers in his ministry and has in addition sold over millions copies of his books.
Both are educated and possess a good knowledge in their works that make them effective leaders. They also perform their duties with utmost sincerity and for the good of their followers. They have been considered as servant-leaders who have influenced the lives of many people in a positive manner.
They are also public speakers, a factor that makes their communication skills outstanding to garner their supporter’s confidence. They will both be remembered as inspirational leaders. Obama has written inspirational books about the effects of drugs in his teenage life and Osteen has written many inspirational books of different topics, their speeches are also inspirational. The most notable Obama speech was the one he delivered during his inauguration (American Rhetoric, 2009).
References
American Rhetoric (2009). Barrack Obama: President Inaugral Address. Online Speech Bank. Web.
Lanham, R. (2008). The Sinner’s Guide to the Evangelical Right. London; Sage Publications
Price, J. (2009). Barrack Obama: The Voice of an American Leader. New York: Greenwood Publishing Ltd
Wheeler, J. (2009). Barrack Obama: 44th President of the United States. Tuskon: University of Arizona Press
Young, R. (2007). The Rise of Lakewood Church and Joel Osteen. New York; Whitaker House Publishers