“One day when the Raiders were in Oakland, a reporter visited their locker room to talk to Ken Stabler. Stabler really wasn’t known as an intellectual, but he was a good quarterback. This newspaperman read him some English prose: “I would rather be ashes than dust. I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than that it should be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy, impermanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.” After reading this to the quarterback, the reporter asked, “What does this mean to you?” Stabler immediately replied, “Throw deep.” Go after it. Go out to win in life.”
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John C. Maxwell
“When leaders learn and live good values, they make themselves more valuable and lift the value of other people. That is the foundation of positive leadership.”
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John C. Maxwell
“One of the ways Coach Wooden used to do that was to ask his players to acknowledge the skills and contributions of others. He told each player that if a teammate made a great pass or set a pick that allowed him to score, he should acknowledge the teammate on the way back down the court. One time a player asked, “Coach, if we do that, what if the teammate that made the assist isn’t looking?” Coach Wooden replied, “He will always be looking.” Coach knew that people look for and thrive on acknowledgment and appreciation.”
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John C. Maxwell
“The toughest thing about success is that you’ve got to keep on being a success. Talent is only a starting point in business. You’ve got to keep working that talent.”
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John C. Maxwell
“The ability to connect with others begins with understanding the value of people.”
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John C. Maxwell
“You cannot kindle a fire in any other heart until it is burning within your own.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Crisis doesn’t necessarily make character, but it certainly does reveal it. Adversity”
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John C. Maxwell
“Any married man should forget his mistakes—there’s no use in two people remembering the same thing.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Los administradores pueden mantener el rumbo, pero no pueden cambiarlo. Para cambiar el rumbo de las personas, se necesita influencia.”
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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
“Enlightenment writer and philosopher Voltaire likened life to a game of cards. Players must accept the cards dealt to them. However, once they have those cards in hand, they alone choose how they will play them. They decide what risks and actions to take.”
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John C. Maxwell
“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”
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John C. Maxwell
“If you are a leader, the true measure of your success is not getting people to work. It’s not getting people to work hard. It is getting people to work hard together. That takes commitment.”
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John C. Maxwell
“A young concert violinist was asked the secret of her success. She replied, “Planned neglect.” Then she explained, “When I was in school, there were many things that demanded my time. When I went to my room after breakfast, I made my bed, straightened the room, dusted the floor, and did whatever else came to my attention. Then I hurried to my violin practice. I found I wasn’t progressing as I thought I should, so I reversed things. Until my practice period was completed, I deliberately neglected everything else. That program of planned neglect, I believe, accounts for my success.”
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John C. Maxwell