“there are five nonnegotiable characteristics that every effective leader must have: a sense of calling, an ability to communicate, creativity in problem solving, generosity, and consistency.”

“English heart surgeon Martyn Lloyd-Jones asserted, “Most unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself rather than talking to yourself.”

“The best way to become a person that others are drawn to is to develop qualities that we are attracted to in others.

“Three words are essential to connect with others (1) brevity, (2) levity, and (3) repetition. Let me say that again!”

“I believed that if you have the heart to make a difference, there is always an answer, but if you have a heart of indifference, there is never an answer.”

“KEY CONCEPT: Connecting begins when the other person feels valued.”

“Several years ago Dr. Maxwell Maltz’s book, Psycho-Cybernetics, was one of the most popular books on the market. Dr. Maltz was a plastic surgeon who often took disfigured faces and made them more attractive. He observed that in every case, the patient’s self-image rose with his and her physical improvement. In addition to being a successful surgeon, Dr. Maltz was a great psychologist who understood human nature. A wealthy woman was greatly concerned about her son, and she came to Dr. Maltz for advice. She had hoped that the son would assume the family business following her husband’s death, but when the son came of age, he refused to assume that responsibility and chose to enter an entirely different field. She thought Dr. Maltz could help convince the boy that he was making a grave error. The doctor agreed to see him, and he probed into the reasons for the young man’s decision. The son explained, “I would have loved to take over the family business, but you don’t understand the relationship I had with my father. He was a driven man who came up the hard way. His objective was to teach me self-reliance, but he made a drastic mistake. He tried to teach me that principle in a negative way. He thought the best way to teach me self-reliance was to never encourage or praise me. He wanted me to be tough and independent. Every day we played catch in the yard. The object was for me to catch the ball ten straight times. I would catch that ball eight or nine times, but always on that tenth throw he would do everything possible to make me miss it. He would throw it on the ground or over my head but always so I had no chance of catching it.” The young man paused for a moment and then said, “He never let me catch the tenth ball—never! And I guess that’s why I have to get away from his business; I want to catch that tenth ball!”

“No entender lo que usted quiere es un problema de conocimiento. No tratar de obtener lo que quiere es un problema de motivación. No lograr lo que quiere es un problema de persistencia.”

“There's a world of difference between a person who has a big problem and a person who makes a problem big.”

“No one can produce great things who is not thoroughly sincere in dealing with himself.”

“La ansiedad y el temor son emociones debilitantes para el corazón humano, y también lo son las pérdidas. Pueden debilitarnos, encarcelarnos, paralizarnos, desalentarnos y enfermarnos. Para ser exitosos, necesitamos encontrar maneras de desatascarnos emocionalmente.”

“Nothing speaks like results.”

“By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail.

“You are today where your thoughts have brought you. You will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.”

“Have to sow excellent seeds to have an excellent life. Must start with sowing excellent thoughts.”