“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
“You just need to be positive, believe in yourself, and focus on others.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Nothing much happens without a dream. For something really great to happen, it takes a really great dream.”
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John C. Maxwell
“You can’t take the team to the next level when you haven’t mastered the skills it takes to succeed on a personal level.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Influencing others is a matter of disposition, not position.”
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John C. Maxwell
“The Pareto Principle 20 percent of your priorities will give you 80 percent of your production IF you spend your time, energy, money, and personnel on the top 20 percent of your priorities.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Warren Bennis and Bert Nanus say that “trust is the emotional glue that binds followers and leaders together.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Success comes to those who have an entire mountain of gold that they continually mine, not those who find one nugget and try to live on it for fifty years. To become someone who can mine a lot of gold, you need to keep repeating the process of good thinking.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Leadership is more than management. Leadership is: • People more than projects • Movement more than maintenance • Art more than science • Intuition more than formula • Vision more than procedure • Risk more than caution • Action more than reaction • Relationships more than rules • Who you are more than what you do If you want to influence others, then you must learn to lead.”
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John C. Maxwell
“An infant is born with a clenched fist; a man dies with an open hand. Life has a way of prying free the things we think are so important.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Thomas Jefferson said, “It’s wonderful how much can be done if we are always working.”
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John C. Maxwell
“there is no future in any job. The future lies in the man who holds the job.”
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John C. Maxwell
“A realist believes that what is done or left undone in the short run determines the long run.”
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John C. Maxwell
“The more you do to go beyond words, the greater the chance you will connect with people.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Your life today is a result of your thinking yesterday. Your life tomorrow will be determined by what you think today.”
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John C. Maxwell
