“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality.” That can happen only when the leader is willing to hear and face the truth.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Reward only finished work: It’s good to praise effort, but you should never reward it.
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John C. Maxwell
“The first important step in weathering failure is learning not to personalize it.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Thomas Jefferson observed, “A candle loses nothing when it lights another candle.” That is the real nature of partnership. I find that many people don’t think that way. They believe that sharing means losing something. But I don’t think that’s true.
Every person possesses one of two mind-sets: scarcity or abundance. People with a scarcity mind-set believe that there’s only so much to go around, so you have to scrap for everything you can and protect whatever you have at all costs. People with an abundance mind-set believe there’s always enough to go around. If you have an idea, share it: you can always come up with another one. If you have money, give some of it away; you can always make more. If you have only one piece of pie, let someone else eat it; you can bake another one.
I believe that in this area, you get from life what you expect. You can hoard what little you have and receive no more. Or you can give what you have, and you will be rewarded with abundance. Your attitude makes the difference. So if you partner with another person and give tremendously, one way or another you’re going to get back more than you gave.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy.” —Saadi”
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John C. Maxwell
“A young concert violinist was asked the secret of her success. She replied, “Planned neglect.” Then she explained, “When I was in school, there were many things that demanded my time. When I went to my room after breakfast, I made my bed, straightened the room, dusted the floor, and did whatever else came to my attention. Then I hurried to my violin practice. I found I wasn’t progressing as I thought I should, so I reversed things. Until my practice period was completed, I deliberately neglected everything else. That program of planned neglect, I believe, accounts for my success.”
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John C. Maxwell
“you must be able to take the new thing you’ve learned today and build upon what you learned yesterday to keep growing.”
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John C. Maxwell
“It’s easier to move from failure to success than from excuses to success.”
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John C. Maxwell
“One day when the Raiders were in Oakland, a reporter visited their locker room to talk to Ken Stabler. Stabler really wasn’t known as an intellectual, but he was a good quarterback. This newspaperman read him some English prose: “I would rather be ashes than dust. I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than that it should be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy, impermanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.” After reading this to the quarterback, the reporter asked, “What does this mean to you?” Stabler immediately replied, “Throw deep.” Go after it. Go out to win in life.”
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John C. Maxwell
“If a team is to accomplish its goals, it has to know where it stands.”
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John C. Maxwell
“People change when they ... Hurt enough that they have to, Learn enough that they want to, and Receive enough that they are able to.”
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John C. Maxwell
“The more you do to go beyond words, the greater the chance you will connect with people.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Everybody on a championship team doesn’t get publicity, but everyone can say he’s a champion.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”
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John C. Maxwell
“When you give of yourself, it benefits you, the organization, and the receiver.”
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John C. Maxwell
