“You can't move people to action unless you first move them with emotion.... The heart comes before the head.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“I remember looking at myself in the mirror one morning and thinking, I am not a handsome guy. What am I going to do with a face like this? Then I smiled. And I thought, That helps.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“I got to the top the hard way—fighting my own laziness and ignorance every step of the way.”
―
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.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but manifestations of strength and resolution.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“When you develop confidence, those around you—friends, family, and associates—will increase in their own confidence levels. Confidence breeds confidence.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“When an archer misses the mark he turns and looks for the fault within himself. Failure to hit the bull’s-eye is never the fault of the target. To improve your aim, improve yourself.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“application phase of the thinking process, land your ideas first with… Yourself: Landing an idea with yourself will give you integrity. People will buy into an idea only after they buy into the leader who communicates it. Before teaching any lesson, I ask myself three questions: “Do I believe it? Do I live it? Do I believe others should live it?” If I can’t answer yes to all three questions, then I haven’t landed it. Key Players: Let’s face it, no idea will fly if the influencers don’t embrace it. After all, they are the people who carry thoughts from idea to implementation. Those Most Affected: Landing thoughts with the people on the firing line will give you great insight. Those closest to changes that occur as a result of a new idea can give you a “reality read.” And that’s important, because sometimes even when you’ve diligently completed the process of creating a thought, shaping it, and stretching it with other good thinkers, you can still miss the mark.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“The effectiveness of your work will never rise above your ability to lead and influence others. You cannot produce consistently on a level higher than your leadership. In other words, your leadership skills determine the level of your success-and the success of those who work around you.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“part of the parenting process is helping children understand that they are not the center of the universe.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“analogy: It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“Believe in the value of others. Carlisle said, “A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats the little man.” The value you place on people determines whether you are a motivator or a manipulator of men.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”
―
John C. Maxwell
“You never really know something until you teach it to someone else.”
―
John C. Maxwell