“One of the most striking scenes of the 1970s was Hubert Humphrey’s funeral. Seated next to Hubert’s beloved wife was former President Richard M. Nixon, a long-time political adversary of Humphrey, and a man disgraced by Watergate. Humphrey himself had asked Nixon to have that place of honor. Three days before Senator Humphrey died, Jesse Jackson visited him in the hospital. Humphrey told Jackson that he had just called Nixon. Reverend Jackson, knowing their past relationship, asked Humphrey why. Here is what Hubert Humphrey had to say, From this vantage point, with the sun setting in my life, all of the speeches, the political conventions, the crowds, and the great fights are behind me. At a time like this you are forced to deal with your irreducible essence, forced to grapple with that which is really important. And what I have concluded about life is that when all is said and done, we must forgive each other, redeem each other, and move on. Do”
―
John C. Maxwell
“Successful people think differently than unsuccessful people.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“If you combine your thoughts with the thoughts of others, you will come up with thoughts you’ve never had!”
―
John C. Maxwell
“If you really want to be an uncommon leader, you’re going to have to find a way to get much of your vision seen, implemented, and added to by others.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“As a leader, you don’t earn any points for failing in a noble cause. You don’t get credit for being “right” as you bring the organization to a halt. Your success is measured by your ability to actually take the people where they need to go. But you can do that only if the people first buy into you as a leader.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“As a leader, you should not be trying to carry everything yourself. To be successful, you must share the load. But you must have highly capable people to hand things off to.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“The whole idea of motivation is a trap. Forget motivation.
Just do it. Exercise, lose weight, test your blood sugar, or
whatever. Do it without motivation. And then, guess what?
After you start doing the thing, that's when the motivation
comes and makes it easy for you to keep on doing it.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“Your attitude, more than your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“The only way to change how you view life is to change who you are on the inside.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“people knowledge is much more important than mere product knowledge.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“One of the ways Coach Wooden used to do that was to ask his players to acknowledge the skills and contributions of others. He told each player that if a teammate made a great pass or set a pick that allowed him to score, he should acknowledge the teammate on the way back down the court. One time a player asked, “Coach, if we do that, what if the teammate that made the assist isn’t looking?” Coach Wooden replied, “He will always be looking.” Coach knew that people look for and thrive on acknowledgment and appreciation.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“The Constitution guarantees free speech, but it doesn’t guarantee listeners.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“Maturity doesn’t come with age. It begins with the acceptance of responsibility.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“The effectiveness of your work will never rise above your ability to lead and influence others. You cannot produce consistently on a level higher than your leadership. In other words, your leadership skills determine the level of your success-and the success of those who work around you.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“You can’t change where you started, but you can change the direction you are going. It’s not what you are going to do, but it’s what you are doing now that counts.”
―
John C. Maxwell
