John Calvin Maxwell is a famous American author and speaker. He was born on February 20, 1947, in Garden City, Michigan. He completed his early education from three different institutions. He first did a Bachelor's degree at Circleville Bible College in 1969. He then completed his Masters in Divinity at Azusa Pacific University and later his doctorate at Fuller Theological Seminary.
Maxwell is extremely well known as he has contributed a lot with a focus on leadership. His books are bestsellers, and he has many titles in his kitty. His most famous books are "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" and "The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader". Some of his books have registered themselves with New York Times Best Seller List. Three of Maxwell's books have claimed a sale of almost over a million copies.
Maxwell was earlier a Christian pastor, and he has led churches in many American cities. He served as a senior pastor at Skyline Church for almost fourteen years. After handling various pastor positions, Maxwell again started preaching at the Crystal Cathedral.
Besides that, Maxwell is also a motivational speaker and frequently speaks on many international platforms. Some of the famous John Maxwell quotes are as follows:
A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.
Being a leader encompasses not just one but three important responsibilities. While it's expected that the leaders themselves should know the path they have to walk; they should also lead others to tread on the same path. Thus, the leaders have to make sure that they are aware of how they have to walk on and make sure that while moving on that path, they enlighten others by showing them the way.
Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.
This quote is extremely quintessential in the business world and depicts life's competitive nature. What is charismatic about all the world-famous leaders? Of course, it's the fact that they are extremely down to earth and interactive, but at the same time, they stand out from the crowd. So true, leaders should be close enough to be approached but so far and ahead in their achievements that they become role models.
People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.
A leader is truly that figure whom everyone looks up to while engaging in any endeavour. Thus, in a corporate environment, common people will always see who the leader of the project or initiative is before actually trusting the leader's vision. This implies that the common gentry will lay down its faith in the leader's character and nature before trusting their goal or vision. After all, the first impression truly speaks a lot!
People never care how much you know until they know how much you care.
Knowledge about something is very personal to any individual. People feel a great sense of connection with what they know and have education in. However, people won't bother about your knowledge much if they don't know how much it means to you. Only when they will know how much you care about your education will they start caring for you.
A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.
Acceptance of mistakes is an important part of an individual's emotional growth. However, a man is expected to be smart enough to take all those mistakes in his stride. He has to ensure that those mistakes become a way through which he learns. Finally, a man should be strong enough to rectify those mistakes and not repeat them in future.
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A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.
This quote forms the gist of what all qualities are expected out of a leader. A leader should be responsible so that he or she takes more blame than the rest of the team members. This is so because as a leader the mistake committed by the team ultimately has to be accepted in larger measure by the leader. However, leaders should take a step back when taking credit for work because they will realize that ultimately it's the team together that does good work.
The greatest day in your life and mine is when we take total responsibility for our attitudes. That's the day we truly grow up.
Taking responsibility for one's conduct is extremely crucial. Be it being rude with someone, being soft with someone, being kind, generous, loving, caring or abusive for that matter. The day we all start taking responsibility for whatever way we deal with a particular situation, is the day we all will realize what growth means. Growth encompasses the idea of being responsible for who we are and how we behave.
Learn to say 'no' to the good so you can say 'yes' to the best.
Making informed choices in life is very crucial. However, making the best choices in life is even more important because that's how one will choose the best for oneself. Thus, never settle for something that is not in tandem with your level or personality. If you say "yes" to the best choice, you should also learn to reject something inferior to best.
The greatest mistake we make is living in constant fear that we will make one.
A human being is always afraid of making mistakes. A person will constantly engage in overthinking on how to avoid making mistakes. Yet the human brain's ideal thought process should not be afraid of committing mistakes. Rather the biggest mistake that we make is that we are always afraid of making one!
Good executives never put off until tomorrow what they can get someone else to do today
Maxwell's line is particularly relevant in the world of corporates and firms. Good executives are always those people who don't delay their work. However, they are also not those people who would get tasks done by themselves. The conclusion is that executives should be well versed in their jobs to get the unfinished work done immediately by others.
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If you wouldn't follow yourself, why should anyone else?
Following oneself is the key to making others follow you. Consider that one does not follow the goals and aims one set in life. Do you think that someone else will follow them? Absolutely not. That's so because a person who is not disciplined would hardly be able to set an example for others. No examples mean no followers!
A minute of thought is greater than an hour of talk.
Measuring the quantity and quality of what one speaks is essential in life. Often people blabber for hours, yet no significant result comes out. On the other hand, people will only speak for a few minutes but would make absolute sense in everything. Thus, it's always better to talk less yet make sense.
Doing the right thing daily, compounds over time.
Improvement in individual capacity cannot happen in a day or two. Change has to be an everyday process. It has to be consistent. It's only after the little steps that one takes daily that the positive result of which will compound over time. So doing the right things every day helps form a habit that becomes a major positive change in the future.
We cannot become what we need by remaining what we are.
The act of "becoming" means that the person has to let go of the previous version of oneself. Put in simple words, we cannot become what we want to become if we don't move ahead in our life. One has to move forward, shed past experiences and ensure that movement happens in their life in terms of small baby size changes.
If you don't have peace, it isn't because someone took it from you; you gave it away. You cannot always control what happens to you, but you can control what happens in you.
Maxwell has very well summed up the spiritual and motivational aspects of life in this quote. Consider that you go through some personal family member loss, and you are left shattered. Now the tragedy was inevitable, but the way you approach it will decide how you sail in life ahead. Thus, you cannot control what may happen to you in life, but you can control what happens within you as a consequence of it.
Talent is a gift, but the character is a choice.
It is often said that someone has a god-gifted talent. This shows that talent is something one is naturally born with. There's no way one can control talent. However, in constructing character, one can make an active choice. That's because one's character is bred and groomed over a period of time. One has complete agency in choosing what one wants to become. Thus, the character is a matter of choice.
Growth inside fuels growth outside.
Mental strength is as important as physical strength. If you want to see tremendous growth in your output, focus on inside as well as outside. Only when you find peace in your heart, you will find peace outside. Only when you will overcome the inner fear, you will conquer the realm of outside. Thus, introspection and self-reflection can produce amazing results!
When the leader lacks confidence, the followers lack commitment.
A leader cannot be someone unsure of what he/she/they are doing. All leaders have to first instil confidence in themselves. The only way a leader can motivate his/her/their followers in achieving the common goal is by building confidence. The followers will follow what the leader would say. In that scenario, a leader who lacks confidence will produce uninterested followers who will eventually lack commitment.
People who use time wisely spend it on activities that advance their overall purpose in life.
One can look at this line from two different angles. It first establishes the importance of time. It then talks about how judicious use of time can make one's life purposeful. Well, time and purposeful life have a direct relationship. It's often seen that people who keep track of their activities vis-a-vis time end up treating their life all the more seriously.
The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda.
Setting everyday goals becomes very important to achieve overall success. Rather than charting out a layout for long term goals, one should set an everyday agenda. This can vary from something as simple as exercising to doing professional work. Thus, in any enterprise or work, set an everyday agenda and see wonders happen!
