“President Abraham Lincoln said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“leader is great, not because of his or her power, but because of his or her ability to empower others. Success without a successor is failure. A worker’s main responsibility is developing others to do the work
―
John C. Maxwell
“It’s better to have a great team with a weak dream than a great dream with a weak team. Your team must be the size of your dream.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“People can perceive a lot in seven seconds. They can decide that they do not want to hear anything a speaker has to say,”
―
John C. Maxwell
“English heart surgeon Martyn Lloyd-Jones asserted, “Most unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself rather than talking to yourself.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“When you realize that people treat you according to how they see themselves rather than how you really are, you are less likely to be affected by their behavior.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“Recently I took my daughter Elizabeth out to a restaurant for lunch. The waitress, whose job it was to take care of people, made us feel that we were really inconveniencing her. She was grumpy, negative, and unhelpful. All of her customers were aware of the fact that she was having a bad day. Elizabeth looked up at me and said, “Dad, she’s a grump, isn’t she?” I could only agree with a look of disdain. Halfway through our experience I tried to change this woman’s negative attitude. Pulling out a $10 bill, I said, “Could you do me a favor? I’d like some change for this $10 bill because I want to give you a good tip today.” She looked at me, did a double take, and then ran to the cash register. After changing the money, she spent the next fifteen minutes hovering over us. I thanked her for her service, told her how important and helpful she was, and left a good tip. As we left, Elizabeth said, “Daddy, did you see how that lady changed?” Seizing this golden opportunity, I said, “Elizabeth, if you want people to act right toward you, you act right toward them. And many times you’ll change them.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“The bottom line in managing your emotions is that you should put others – not yourself – first in how you handle and process them. Whether you delay or display your emotions should not be for your own gratification. You should ask yourself, What does the team need? Not, What will make me feel better?”
―
John C. Maxwell
“An unintentional life accepts everything and does nothing. An intentional life embraces only the things that will add to the mission of significance.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“A good leader encourages followers to tell him what he needs to know, not what he wants to hear”
―
John C. Maxwell
“If you keep nonproductive people, the productive ones become frustrated and leave. If you remove the people who don’t add value, then the whole team gets better. It’s just like trimming trees: If you don’t cut the deadwood, eventually the whole tree falls. But if you remove the deadwood, the tree becomes healthier, the healthy branches produce more, and there’s room for productive new branches on the tree.”
―
John C. Maxwell