“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
“St. Francis of Assisi said, “Start doing what is necessary; then do what is possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Experience alone isn’t a good enough teacher – evaluated experience is.”
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John C. Maxwell
“A dream is an inspiring picture of the future that energizes your mind, will, and emotions, empowering you to do everything you can to achieve 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
“The only way to change how you view life is to change who you are on the inside.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Sociologists tell us that even the most introverted individual will influence ten thousand other people during his or her lifetime! This amazing statistic was shared with me by my associate Tim Elmore.”
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John C. Maxwell
“people who do not forgive are hurting themselves much more than they’re hurting others.”
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John C. Maxwell
“I always try to remember that I am a work in progress. When I maintain that perspective, I realize that I don’t have to be perfect. I don’t have to have it all together. I don’t need to try to have all the answers. And I don’t need to learn everything in a day. When I make a mistake, it’s not because I’m a failure or worthless. I just didn’t do something right because I still haven’t improved enough in some part of the process. And that motivates me to keep growing and improving. If I don’t know something, it’s an opportunity to try to improve in a new area.”
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John C. Maxwell
“The higher you want to climb, the more you need leadership. The greater the impact you want to make, the greater your influence needs to be.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Followers tell you what you want to hear. Leaders tell you what you need to hear.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Tone, inflection, timing, volume, pacing—everything you do with your voice communicates something and has the potential to help you connect to or disconnect from others when you speak.”
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John C. Maxwell
“In 1997,I wrote a book called The Success Journey. It offers an overview on what it means to be successful. In it I define success in these terms: Knowing your purpose in life Growing to reach your potential Sowing seeds that benefit others”
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John C. Maxwell
