“First, when we are busy, we naturally believe that we are achieving. But busyness does not equal productivity. Activity is not necessarily accomplishment. Second, prioritizing requires leaders to continually think ahead, to know what's important, to know what's next, to see how everything relates to the overall vision. That's hard work. Third, prioritizing causes us to do things that are at the least uncomfortable and sometimes downright painful.”
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John C. Maxwell
“There are two types of people in the business community: those who produce results and those who give you reasons why they didn’t.”
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John C. Maxwell
“The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Good leaders motivate others by their listening skills. We are to: avoid prejudicial first impressions; become less self-centered; withhold initial criticism; stay calm; listen with empathy; be active listeners; clarify what we hear; and recognize the healing power of listening. Then we are to act on what we hear”
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John C. Maxwell
“60 percent of all management problems are the result of faulty communications.”
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John C. Maxwell
“The best way to become a person that others are drawn to is to develop qualities that we are attracted to in others.”
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John C. Maxwell
“People who blame others for their failures never overcome them. They simply move from problem to problem. To reach your potential, you must continually improve yourself, and you can’t do that if you don’t take responsibility for your actions and learn from your mistakes.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy.” —Saadi”
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John C. Maxwell
“people with a positive attitude focus their time and attention on solutions, not problems.”
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John C. Maxwell
“William A. Hewitt, Chairman of Deere and Company, says, “To be a leader you must preserve all through your life the attitude of being receptive to new ideas. The quality of leadership you will give will depend upon your ability to evaluate new ideas, to separate change for the sake of change from change for the sake of me.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Former US president Woodrow Wilson said, “If you want to make enemies, change something.”
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John C. Maxwell
“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”
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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
