“The challenge of leadership is to create change and facilitate growth.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“I believed that if you have the heart to make a difference, there is always an answer, but if you have a heart of indifference, there is never an answer.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“Recently I had breakfast with Dan Cathy, the president of Chick-fil-A, a fast food chain headquartered in the Atlanta area. I told him that I was working on this book and I asked him if he made thinking time a high priority. Not only did he say yes, but he told me about what he calls his “thinking schedule.” It helps him to fight the hectic pace of life that discourages intentional thinking. Dan says he sets aside time just to think for half a day every two weeks, for one whole day every month, and for two or three full days every year. Dan explains, “This helps me ‘keep the main thing, the main thing,’ since I am so easily distracted.” You may want to do something similar, or you can develop a schedule and method of your own. No matter what you choose to do, go to your thinking place, take paper and pen, and make sure you capture your ideas in writing.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“Dale Carnegie was a master at identifying potential leaders. Once asked by a reporter how he had managed to hire forty-three millionaires, Carnegie responded that the men had not been millionaires when they started working for him. They had become millionaires as a result. The reporter next wanted to know how he had developed these men to become such valuable leaders. Carnegie replied, “Men are developed the same way gold is mined. Several tons of dirt must be moved to get an ounce of gold. But you don’t go into the mine looking for dirt,” he added. “You go in looking for the gold.” That’s exactly the way to develop positive, successful people. Look for the gold, not the dirt; the good, not the bad. The more positive qualities you look for, the more you are going to find.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“Most people’s natural inclination is to judge themselves according to their best qualities while they measure others by their worst. As a result, they point to areas where their teammates need to grow. But the truth is that every person is responsible for his own growth first.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“You can’t stop people from thinking—but you can start them.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“In general, there are no bad audiences; only bad speakers.”
―
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
“I believe all of us can identify with the poet Carl Sandberg, who said, “There is an eagle in me that wants to soar and a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud.” The key to success is following the impulse to soar more than the desire to wallow. And that is a never-ending struggle—at least it has been for me. I believe any successful person would be honest in saying, “I got to the top the hard way—fighting my own laziness and ignorance every step of the way.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“People who do not believe in themselves have trouble believing in others.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“How does a person become productive? Find your strength and then find someone who needs your strength.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“If you are willing to change your thinking, you can change your feelings.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“A Chinese proverb says, “Those who drink the water must remember those who dug the well.” Gratitude is one of the most attractive of all personal attributes;”
―
John C. Maxwell
