“I’ve learned that if you want people to be impressed, you can talk about your successes; but if you want people to identify with you, it’s better to talk about your failures.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“Good attitudes among players do not guarantee a team’s success, but bad attitudes guarantee its failure.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“The true leader serves. Serves people. Serves their best interests, and in so doing will not always be popular, may not always impress. But because true leaders are motivated by loving concern, rather than a desire for personal glory, they are willing to pay the price
―
John C. Maxwell
“A person with a negative self-image will expect the worst, damage relationships, and find others who are similarly negative.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“If you know something without having lived it, your audience experiences a credibility gap.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“One of the most striking scenes of the 1970s was Hubert Humphrey’s funeral. Seated next to Hubert’s beloved wife was former President Richard M. Nixon, a long-time political adversary of Humphrey, and a man disgraced by Watergate. Humphrey himself had asked Nixon to have that place of honor. Three days before Senator Humphrey died, Jesse Jackson visited him in the hospital. Humphrey told Jackson that he had just called Nixon. Reverend Jackson, knowing their past relationship, asked Humphrey why. Here is what Hubert Humphrey had to say, From this vantage point, with the sun setting in my life, all of the speeches, the political conventions, the crowds, and the great fights are behind me. At a time like this you are forced to deal with your irreducible essence, forced to grapple with that which is really important. And what I have concluded about life is that when all is said and done, we must forgive each other, redeem each other, and move on. Do”
―
John C. Maxwell
“To put significance in our stories, we must also take action. Being passive may feel safe. If you do nothing, nothing can go wrong. But while inaction cannot fail, it cannot succeed either. We can wait, and hope, and wish, but if we do, we miss the stories our lives could be.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“• Leaders gain credibility when they suffer with those they lead.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“The measure of a leader is not the number of people who serve him but the number of people he serves.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“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.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“You just need to be positive, believe in yourself, and focus on others.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“It's said that a wise person learns from his mistakes. A wiser one learns from others' mistakes. But the wisest person of all learns from others's successes.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“We cannot become what we need by remaining what we are.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“How do I identify the top 20 percent influencers/producers in my organization?” I suggest that you make a list of everyone in your company or department. Then ask yourself this question about each individual: “If this person takes a negative action against me or withdraws his or her support from me, what will the impact likely be?”
―
John C. Maxwell