There is a dangerous drift that happens in leadership.
You start strong. You push hard. You build something that works.
And then... you get comfortable.
The revenue is steady. The team is stable. The systems are running. You stop reading the books. You stop asking the hard questions. You stop taking risks. You convince yourself that you are “content.”
But in the Superhuman Framework, we know the truth:
You are not content. You are complacent.
Being Hungry is not about greed. It is not about unbridled ambition that crushes people in your path. It is about the refusal to bury your talent in the ground just to keep it safe.
God did not call you to maintain; He called you to multiply.
What is “Holy Discontent”?
Many faith-driven leaders feel guilty about wanting “more.” They think they should just be happy with what they have.
We need to distinguish between Selfish Ambition and Holy Hunger.
Selfish Ambition
Wants more for the sake of Glory.
(Building your own kingdom)
Holy Hunger
Wants more for the sake of Impact.
(Expanding God's Kingdom)
A “Hungry” leader possesses a Holy Discontent. They look at the brokenness in their industry, the potential in their team, or the gaps in their service, and they say: “This can be better. And because it can be better, it MUST be better.”
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
Matthew 5:6
Notice the physical desperation in those words? Hunger. Thirst.
If you are not desperate to see your business honor God more deeply tomorrow than it did today, you have lost your hunger.
The Learner Always Leads
Show me a leader who thinks they have “arrived,” and I will show you an organization that is about to decline.
The Hungry leader is an eternal student. They admit what they do not know. They are the first to sign up for the course, the first to hire the coach, and the first to ask for feedback.
The 3 Signs of a Hungry Leader
They Audit Their Circle
They intentionally spend time with people who are smarter, faster, and more faithful than they are. Iron sharpens iron.
They Read (Voraciously)
They know that one book can change the trajectory of a company. They treat learning as an investment, not an expense.
They Fail Forward
They treat failure as tuition paid for a lesson learned, not as a definition of their identity. Every setback is a setup for growth.
Check Yourself
When was the last time you learned something that fundamentally changed your mind?
Hunger Without Contentment = Greed
We have to be careful here. Hunger is a powerful fuel, but it is volatile.
If you are Hungry but not Happy (Pillar 1), you become a tyrant.
You will drive your team into the ground because “more” is never enough. You will treat people as rungs on a ladder.
The Superhuman Balance
You must be fully content in Christ (Happy), while remaining fully committed to growth (Hungry).
Content with who you are.
Hungry for what you can do.
Check Yourself
Is my drive for growth fueled by inspiration (pull) or insecurity (push)?
How to Get Your Hunger Back
If you feel like you have been coasting, here is how to wake up:
Get Scared Again
Set a goal so big that you cannot achieve it in your own strength. If your vision does not intimidate you, it is too small for God.
Change Rooms
If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room. Go find a table where you are the rookie. It will wake up your competitive spirit.
Ask “What If?”
What if we doubled our giving? What if we served 10x more people? What if we solved the biggest problem in our industry? Stop asking “How” and start asking “What If.”
Continue Your Journey
Frequently Asked Questions
Success is the biggest threat to hunger. The key is to redefine success not as a destination but as faithful stewardship of your current capacity—which means the goalpost always moves. Stay connected to people who challenge you. Keep learning in areas where you are a beginner. Remember that your capacity to serve, love, and impact is never maxed out.
Ambition itself is not wrong—its direction determines its morality. Selfish ambition that serves your ego is condemned in Scripture. But holy ambition—the drive to steward your gifts fully, to serve more people, to bring more glory to God—is celebrated. Paul said he pressed on toward the goal. The question is not whether you should be ambitious, but for what and for whom.
This is the tension every hungry leader must hold. The answer is not to reduce your hunger but to expand your capacity for both reaching and resting. Practice gratitude daily—not as a way to dampen your drive but as a way to fuel it with joy rather than anxiety. Be fully present in each moment while keeping your eyes on the horizon.
This is an important distinction. Holy hunger is energizing; anxiety is depleting. Holy hunger says "I get to pursue more"; anxiety says "I have to achieve more or else." If your drive feels more like fear than faith, pause and examine its source. Often, anxious striving masks a belief that your worth depends on your achievement. Return to the gospel: you are already fully accepted in Christ.
Hunger is more caught than taught. First, model it visibly—share what you are learning, where you are growing, what challenges excite you. Second, create exposure to people and ideas that expand vision. Third, celebrate growth and improvement, not just results. Fourth, give people stretch assignments that require them to level up.