“A visionary company is like a great work of art. Think of Michelangelo’s scenes from Genesis on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel or his statue of David. Think of a great and enduring novel like Huckleberry Finn or Crime and Punishment. Think of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony or Shakespeare’s Henry V. Think of a beautifully designed building, like the masterpieces of Frank Lloyd Wright or Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. You can’t point to any one single item that makes the whole thing work; it’s the entire work—all the pieces working together to create an overall effect—that leads to enduring greatness.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Many people fail to make a difference because they are so busy.
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John C. Maxwell
“A team is a group of people who may not be equal in experience, talent, or education but in commitment.”
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John C. Maxwell
“When was the last time you did something for the first time?”
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John C. Maxwell
“There is no life as empty as the self-centered life. There is no life as centered as the self-empty life.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Elbert Hubbard said that the greatest mistake a person can make is to be afraid of making one.
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John C. Maxwell
“Few things will pay you bigger dividends in life than the time and trouble you take to understand people and build relationships
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John C. Maxwell
“To put significance in our stories, we must also take action. Being passive may feel safe. If you do nothing, nothing can go wrong. But while inaction cannot fail, it cannot succeed either. We can wait, and hope, and wish, but if we do, we miss the stories our lives could be.”
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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.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Uniformity is not the key to successful teamwork. The glue that holds a team together is unity of purpose.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Write down somewhere in the margins on this page your answer to this question: How have you changed . . . lately? In the last week, let’s say? Or in the last month? The last year? Can you be very specific? Or must your answer be incredibly vague? You say you’re growing. Okay . . . how? “Well,” you say, “In all kinds of ways.” Great! Name one. You see, effective teaching comes only through a changed person. The more you change, the more you become an instrument of change in the lives of others. If you want to become a change agent, you also must change.2 Change the leader—change the organization.”
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John C. Maxwell
“The leader’s Attitude is like a thermostat for the place she works. If her attitude is good, the atmosphere is pleasant, and the environment is easy to work in. But if her attitude is bad, the temperature is insufferable.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Leadership is influence—nothing more, nothing less. If you are being salt and light as Jesus commanded, then you have begun to obey God’s call to leadership.”
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John C. Maxwell