“In my first leadership position, I mistakenly thought that being named the leader meant that I was the leader. Back then I defined leading as a noun—as the position I was appointed to—not a verb—as what I was doing. Though I had been hired as the senior pastor, I quickly discovered the real leader of the church was a down-to-earth farmer named Claude, who had been earning his leadership influence through many positive actions over many years. He later explained it to me, saying, “John, all the letters”
―
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
“The more tuned in you are to your purpose, and the more dedicated you are to growing toward it, the better your chances of reaching your potential, expanding your possibilities, and doing something significant.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“Today Matters People create success in their lives by focusing on today. It may sound trite, but today is the only time you have. It’s too late for yesterday. And you can’t depend on tomorrow. That’s why today matters.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“Don’t settle for poor performers. Keep in mind that one great person will always out-produce and out-perform two mediocre people.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“be sure your communication goes beyond words. How can you do that? By connecting on four levels: visually, intellectually, emotionally, and verbally.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“A person who knows how may always have a job, but the person who knows why will always be his boss.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.”
―
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.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“People with humility don’t think less of themselves; they just think of themselves less.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“life.When they find someone who can communicate something of value to them, they will usually listen.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“If you can't influence people, then they will not follow you. And if people won't follow, you are not a leader. That's the Law of Influence.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“KEY CONCEPT: Connecting begins when the other person feels valued.”
―
John C. Maxwell
