“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”
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John C. Maxwell
“Leadership is the capacity and will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence. —Bernard Montgomery,”
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John C. Maxwell
“Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.”
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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
“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.”
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John C. Maxwell
“The reason most major goals are not achieved is that we spend our time doing second things first.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Mark Twain said, “We should be careful to get out of an experience all the wisdom that is in it—not like the cat that sits down on a hot stove lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove lid again—and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore.”
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John C. Maxwell
“If you think you are the entire picture, you will never see the big picture.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Improving your abilities in high-priority areas is always a good investment in yourself that will pay off in the long run.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Your attitude, more than your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”
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John C. Maxwell
“If you combine your thoughts with the thoughts of others, you will come up with thoughts you’ve never had!”
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John C. Maxwell
“Developing and maintaining integrity require constant attention. John Weston, chairman and CEO of Automatic Data Processing, Inc., says, “I`ve always tried to live with the following simple rule: Don`t do what you wouldn`t feel comfortable reading about in the newspapers the next day.” That`s a good standard all of us should keep.”
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John C. Maxwell
“You have to link what you want to say to what others’ needs are.”
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John C. Maxwell
“For the person trying to do everything alone, the game really is over. If you want to do something big, you must link up with others. One is too small a number to achieve greatness. That’s the Law of Significance.”
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John C. Maxwell