“Your attitude colors every aspect of your life. It is like the mind's paintbrush.”
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John C. Maxwell
“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
“Many Christians estimate difficulty in the light of their own resources, and thus they attempt very little, and they always fail. All giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on His power and His presence to be with them.”
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John C. Maxwell
“A leader with great passion and few skills always outperforms a leader with great skills and no passion.”
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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 Situation Principle: Never let the situation mean more than the relationship.”
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John C. Maxwell
“People who make growth their goal—instead of a title, position, salary, or other external target—always have a future.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Hundreds can talk for one who can think, but thousands can think for one who can see.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Preparation (growth) + Attitude + Opportunity + Action (doing something about it) = Luck”
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John C. Maxwell
“There is a great deal of difference between knowing and understanding. You can know a lot about something and not really understand it.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Almost every man wastes part of his life in attempts to display qualities he does not possess.”
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John C. Maxwell
“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
“The respect that leadership must have requires that one’s ethics be without question. A leader not only stays above the line between right and wrong, he stays well clear of the ‘gray areas.”
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John C. Maxwell