“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.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Most people who don’t feel content with their lives don’t know the reason why. Often they suspect that circumstances or other people are to blame. Even honest and self-aware individuals who know the problem lies inside of them still may have trouble getting to the root of the issue. They ask themselves, “Why am I this way?” They desire to change, but they don’t do anything differently so that they can change. They merely hope things will turn out all right—and they become frustrated when they don’t. Recognize that only when you make the right changes to your thinking do other things begin to turn out right in your life.”
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John C. Maxwell
“You'll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”
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John C. Maxwell
“You cannot always control what happens to you, but you can control what happens in you.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Experience isn’t the best teacher—evaluated experience is.”
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John C. Maxwell
“One of the greatest problems people have with failure is that they are too quick to judge isolated situations in their lives and label them as failures. Instead, they need to keep the bigger picture in mind.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Don’t worry about making friends; don’t worry about making enemies. Worry about winning, because if you win, your enemies can’t hurt you, and if you lose, your friends can’t stand you.”
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John C. Maxwell
“In ancient China the people wanted security against the barbaric hordes to the north, so they built the great wall. It was so high they believed no one could climb over it and so thick nothing could break it down. They settled back to enjoy their security. During the first hundred years of the wall’s existence, China was invaded three times. Not once did the barbaric hordes break down the wall or climb over it. Each time they bribed a gatekeeper and then marched right through the gates. The Chinese were so busy relying on the walls of stone that they forgot to teach integrity to their children.”
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John C. Maxwell
“A person who knows how may always have a job, but the person who knows why will always be his boss.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Thinking for a Change shares the way that I think on a daily basis. My wife, Margaret, says it has more of my DNA than any of my other books.”
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John C. Maxwell
“We don’t get to pick our talents or IQ. But we do choose our character. In fact, we create it every time we make choices—to cop out or dig out of a hard situation, to bend the truth or stand under the weight of it, to take the easy money or pay the price.”
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John C. Maxwell
“The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance. It is the illusion of knowledge.”
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John C. Maxwell
“When it comes to the thing you love to do, the thing you were made to do, aim high. The odds matter little. Whether you fall down along the way matters little.”
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John C. Maxwell
“People’s minds are changed through observation and not argument.” People”
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John C. Maxwell
“You are today where your thoughts have brought you. You will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.”
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John C. Maxwell
