Quotes by John C. Maxwell

Keeping score is for games, not friendships.

If we're growing, we're always going to be outside out of our comfort zone.

No matter your title, people will not follow you if they don't trust you.

The only thing a title can buy is a little time-either to increase your level of influence with others or to undermine it.

An idea is worthless unless you use it.

For years I kept a sign on my desk that helped me maintain the right perspective concerning yesterday. It simply said, 'yesterday ended last night'. It reminded me that no matter how badly I might have failed in the past, it's done, and today is a new day.

For pastors who have a dream and who are walking in obedience but still don't have the resources they need, don't worry. Keep walking in obedience.

A mistake is a stepping stone to success.

It's better to prepare than to repair.

The whole idea of motivation is a trap, forget motivation, just do it.

Positive thinking must be followed by positive doing.

Momentum solves 80% of your problems.

You'll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.

Relational skills are the most important abilities in leadership.

We overestimate the event and underestimate the process. Every fulfilled dream occurred because of dedication to a process.

Seek people who seek solutions.

To succeed in life, we must stay within our strength zone but continually move outside our comfort zone.

We feel unhappy and confused with our life when we don't do the focus or calling that God has on our life.

If you want to be a sharp thinker, be around sharp people.

Make personal growth a daily priority.

The smartest person in the room is never as smart as all the people in the room.

Believing in people before they have proved themselves is the key to motivating people to reach their potential.

Positional leaders ignore the fact that every person has hopes, dreams, desires, and goals of his own. And leaders must bring their vision and the aspirations of the people they lead together in a way that benefits everyone.

Integrity is the human quality most necessary to business success.

When values, thoughts, feelings, and actions are in alignment, a person becomes focused and character is strengthened.

If you're proactive, you focus on preparing. If you're reactive, you end up focusing on repairing.

Confidence is a characteristic of a positive attitude. The greatest achievers and leaders remain confident regardless of circumstances.

To be a leader you must be able to create positive change.

Success is choosing to enter the arena of action, determined to give yourself to the cause that will better humanity and last for eternity.

Enlightenment writer and philosopher Voltaire likened life to a game of cards. Players must accept the cards dealt to them. However, once they have those cards in hand, they alone choose how they will play them. They decide what risks and actions to take.

Leader's potential is determined by those closest to him.

It's true that charisma can make a person stand out for a moment, but character sets a person apart for a lifetime.

My leadership began to take flight when I allowed myself to press people to change-whether they thanked me or cursed me.

Every person has a longing to be significant, to make a contribution, to be a part of something noble and purposeful.

Are you a thinker, a doer, or a clutch player? The better you are, the greater potential for influence you will have with your people.

Efficiency is the foundation for survival. Effectiveness is the foundation for success.

To do well at a few things, give up many things.

The mind will not focus until it has clear objectives. But the purpose of goals is to focus your attention and give you direction, not to identify a final destination.

If you embrace possibility thinking, your dreams will go from molehill to mountain size, and because you believe in possibilities, you put yourself in position to achieve them.

Great leaders always have self-discipline -without exception.

Advice is what we ask for when we already knew the answer but wish we didn't.

Remember, in the end, it isn't what you are that holds you back, it's what you think you are not.

Leadership isn't about winning. It's about bringing people with you to the finish line.

Those who follow the crowd will never be followed by a crowd.

A leader's attitude is caught by his or her followers more quickly than his or her actions.

Holding a grudge is never positive or appropriate.

If I'm halfway to the dream, at best, half of my resources are there. Your resources to fulfill the dream will come during the last step of the dream.

Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. How do you gain influence from people? You invest in them. How do you invest in them? It starts with giving them time.

Nothing is more difficult to accomplish than changing outward actions without changing inward feelings.

Good ideas have expiration dates. You need to act before they become dated, irrelevant or otherwise spoiled.

No matter what our circumstances, our greatest limitation isn't the leader above us -- it's the spirit within us.

Leadership is seeing the possibilities in a situation while others are seeing the limitations.

Credibility is a leader's currency. With it, he or she is solvent; without it, he or she is bankrupt.

Goals not only help you develop initial motivation by making your dreams obtainable, but they also help you continue to be motivated and that creates momentum.

Manipulation is moving together for my advantage. Motivation is moving together for mutual advantage.

It is truly one day at a time.

A team doesn't win the championship if its players are working from different agendas.

If churches would take ownership of a vision, the next pastor who is thinking about coming to that church can see what their vision is and then determine if their vision fits with his or her ministry. If it doesn't, then it would be wrong for that pastor to come to that church.

It was in the mid-70's, '74 or '75 I started doing leadership conferences for pastors and in '79 I wrote my first book Think On These Things.

A dream becomes a reality as a result of your actions, and your actions are controlled, to a large extent, by your habits.

Leaders don't rise to the pinnacle of success without developing the right set of attitudes and habits; they make every day a masterpiece.

I think success has a lot to do with my own personal growth.

Failure is simply a price we pay to achieve success.

The person with a plan, a picture, will go after thoughts that add value to their thinking. It's easy to connect the dots if you know where you're going. Likewise, it's easy to connect ideas when you have a plan.

An organization cannot increase its productivity-but people can!

Sometimes the best way to learn is to return to the fundamentals.

When you believe in people, you motivate them and release their potential.

The effectiveness of your work will never rise above your ability to lead and influence others.

A strong positive self image is the best possible preparation for success in life.

I think once a person realizes that they are every day either sowing into their life either potential success, or sowing into their life potential failure, they would all of a sudden go okay, I've got to figure out what I'm going to do.

Pastors need to find their place in the community of believers by spending time with God.

A leader's lasting value is measured by succession.

The moment you place a label on someone, you begin to treat him or her accordingly.

Anyone who loves his opinions more than his teammates will advance his opinions but set back his team.

A trustworthy leader goes the extra mile to remedy strained relationships, even when it doesn't appear to be required.

To be successful, you can't just run on the fast track; run on your track.

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. Whatever you will accomplish is restricted by your ability to lead others.

A big man is one who makes us feel bigger when we are with him.

The secret of our success is found in our daily agenda.

The happiest people are those who have harvested their time in others. The unhappiest people are those who wonder how the world is going to make them happy.

To grow yourself, you must know yourself.

You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. Success doesn't just suddenly occur one day in someone's life. Neither does failure. Each is a process. Every day of your life is merely preparation for the next. What you become is the result of what you do today.

Everyone has the power to impact the outcome of his life. The way to do it is to focus on today... It is too late for yesterday. And you can't depend on tomorrow.

Conflict is like cancer; early detection increases the possibility of a healthy outcome.

Smart leaders believe only half of what they hear. Discerning leaders know which half to believe.

There is a world of difference between a person who has a big problem and a person who makes a problem big.

We fail, not because of big problems, but because of small purposes.

Make a point to continually search for a better way of doing things, even when things are going well, to ensure that a better alternative has not been overlooked and to keep your creative talents in practice.

If you want to do a few small things right, do them yourself. If you want to do great things and make a big impact, learn to delegate.

The bottom line on attitude is that a good one helps to increase your possibilities. Pessimists usually get what they expect. So do optimists.

You can easily determine the caliber of a person by the amount of opposition it takes to discourage him or her.

The Compound Effect is a must-read book for success seekers. You want to know what it takes? You want to know what to do? It's all in these pages. The Compound Effect is a clear and concise success operation manual!

If you want to become a better listener, however you need to learn to direct that energy and attention positively by concentrating on the person you're with.

Your core values are the deeply held beliefs that authentically describe your soul.

Great communicators leave their audiences with great clarity.

The key to becoming a more efficient leader isn't checking off all the items on your to-do list each day. It's in forming the habit of prioritizing your time so that you are accomplishing your most important goals in an efficient manner.

While a good leader sustains momentum, a great leader increases it.

Good leadership isn't about advancing yourself. It's about advancing your team.

Usually the person who rises within an organization has a good attitude. The promotions did not give that individual an outstanding attitude, but an outstanding attitude resulted in promotions.

Understanding people certainly impacts your ability to communicate with others.

If you don't have the ability to see when to stand up and the conviction to do it, you'll never be an effective leader.

One is too small a number to achieve greatness.

For the person trying to do everything alone, the game really is over. If you want to do something big, you must link up with others. One is too small a number to achieve greatness. That's the Law of Significance.

If you aren't making any mistakes, it's a sure sign you're playing it too safe.

Be generous, be humble, and be grateful when achieving your dreams.

If you are leading others and you're lonely, then you're not doing it right. Think about it. If you're all alone, that means nobody is following you. And if nobody is following you, you're not really leading!

Little did I realize that my desire to add value to others would be the thing that added value to me!

You have not lived a perfect day, unless you have done something for someone who will never be able to repay you.
No man becomes rich unless he enriches others.

Ninety percent of those who fail are not actually defeated; they simply quit. ... As you face bad experiences, it's important for you to remember that you can rarely see the benefits while you're in the midst of them. You usually gain perspective on the other side of it.

All things being equal, attitude wins. All things not being equal, attitude sometimes still wins.

The best place for a leader isn't always at the top position. It is the place where they can serve the best and add the most value to other people.

The best leaders realize their success depends on their people.

The best leaders are humble enough to realize their victories depend upon their people.

The best teacher for a leader is evaluated experience.

The bookends of success are starting and finishing. Decisions help us start; discipline helps us finish.

Never open a can of worms unless you plan to go fishing.

With a little faith in themselves people, people can do miraculous things. But without it, they have a really tough time.

If you are too attached to your own thinking and how everything is done now, then nothing will change for the better.

Nobody wanders his or her way to a dream, and nobody achieves a dream by accident. Don't shortcut the process and risk cheating yourself out of your dream!

The goal of the pastor is not to get people to show up but to get people to grow up.

42% of college graduates never read a book after college.

Leaders who leadershift must be like water. They have to be fluid. Water finds a way, then makes a way.

All good leaders are connectors. They relate well and make people feel confident about themselves and their leader.

When we are foolish, we want to conquer the world. When we are wise, we want to conquer ourselves. That begins when we do what we should no matter how we feel about it.

Only by practicing and developing your thinking daily will your ideas get better. Your thinking ability is determined not by your desire to think, but by your past thinking.

Nothing is easier than saying words. Nothing is harder than living them, day after day. What you promise today must be renewed and redecided tomorrow and each day that stretches out before you.

If the price is an issue, then realize that there is also a price to be paid for lack of commitment. If you fail to develop proper commitment, what will you forfeit? On the other hand, if you pay the price, what benefit will you gain?

The only adequate preparation for tomorrow is the right use of today.

Deciding what to be is more important than deciding what to do.

It's easy to have a great attitude when things are going our way...It's when difficult challenges rise before us...that attitude becomes the difference maker.

Question for God every morning: What is the main event today? What do you want me to focus on today?

No matter your title, people will not follow you if they don't trust you.

Leading well is not about enriching yourself -- it's about empowering others.

Someone once defined hard work as the accumulation of the easy things you didn't do when you should have.

The english word thanks comes from the same root word as think. Maybe if leaders were more 'think-ful' about the contribution of others, they would be more 'thankful' to them.

You cannot enjoy others until you enjoy yourself because you cannot give to others what you do not have.

Transmit your vision emotionally by gaining credibility, demonstrating passion, establishing relationships and communicating a felt need. Transmit it logically by confronting reality, formulating strategy, accepting responsibility, celebrating victory and learning from defeat.

You are the only person who can label what you do a failure. Failure is subjective.

Failure is not a one-time event; it's how you deal with life along the way. Until you breathe your last breath, you're still in the process, and there is still time to turn things around for the better.

Take the emotional temperature of those listening to you. Facial expressions, voice inflection and posture give clues to a person's mood and attitude.

Birds of a feather really do flock together.