John C. Maxwell's Blog, page 16

Mark Cole: How to Grow Your Influence

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If your life in any way connects with other people, you are an influencer. 

My good friend Tim Elmore shared an amazing statistic with me several years ago that I’ve never forgotten. Sociologists tell us that even the most introverted individual will influence 10,000 people during his or her lifetime. Everyone influences someone!  

That means the question we should all be asking is: How do I increase my influence? 

Influence is earned. It doesn’t come in...

The Leadership Reproduction Cycle

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The end of the year is almost here, and I know that many companies are going through the same season as my team at The John Maxwell Company: annual reviews.

This is the time of year when our leaders sit down with their team members and go over PPFs for the past 12 months: Personal, Professional, and Financial goals. After reviewing the wins and lessons of this year, each team member will work with the leader to set goals for next year.

It’s a helpful s...

Mark Cole: Success Begins With Purpose

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The most popular question John Maxwell receives when he is on the road speaking and coaching is: “How do I become successful?”

John’s reply usually goes something like this: “You cannot achieve what you have not defined.” John’s response is designed to help the questioner begin the journey to discovering his or her purpose.

John says this because he has learned from experience that the problem for most people who want to be successful is not that they can’...

The Shift from Uniformity to Diversity

Have you ever noticed that in many space movies, the bad guys all suffer from the same disease?

I’m not exactly a movie buff, but I do observe patterns, and it occurred to me that in many science-fiction space movies, there’s a common theme when it comes to the villains.

A lack of diversity.

Think about Star Wars, for example. Take a look at these two pictures:

Photo courtesy of IMDB.com

Photo courtesy of Wookiepedia.com

The good guys are a bunch of rag-tag individuals thrown together for a g...

Mark Cole: Cultivating Gratitude

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This week, I have been intentionally reflecting on the importance of gratitude in leadership. And I keep coming back to a very important question—how do I cultivate a willingness to be grateful?

The truth is, the best version of you is a grateful you. But it is more natural to be entitled and selfish than grateful and humble.

As leaders, we need to take the process of cultivating gratitude seriously.

Here are six habits of gratitude that I believe will he...

Three Steps to Generosity

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This week, America will celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving—a day set aside to be grateful for everything from family to food to faith. While people celebrate in different ways, the point of the holiday is to stop for one day and reflect on the abundant blessings we have.

It’s also the official kick-off to the holiday season, and not just because of the calendar. Thanksgiving and Christmas go hand in hand for a deeper reason.

You see, gratitude and generosit...

Leading in Polarized Times

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Lately, it seems as though people are dividing themselves into categories, drawing lines between themselves and others that are increasingly harder to cross.

All over the world, we are now defined largely by what separates us.

As a leader, this makes for a challenging culture to navigate. One of the biggest responsibilities we have is to bring people together, to get our teams aligned around a common vision and goal.

If leaders are tasked with finding what unit...

Mark Cole: If You Want Answers, Ask Questions

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Questions have power.

Think about the power of simply asking, “Why?” Bernard Baruch said, “Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the only one who asked why.”

Thank God for Isaac Newton! But what about the millions who saw the apples fall and never asked why? What kept them from asking the question?

Have you ever failed to ask a question because you were afraid that it would be a dumb one? I have! Too many times I’ve let pride get in the way of asking a ques...

You Can’t Lead If You Can’t Stick Around: Developing Longevity as a Leader

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What do Daniel Amos, Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffet all have in common?

Yes, they’re all men. Yes, they’re all successful businessmen. Yes, they’re all CEOs of their respective companies (AFLAC, Amazon, and Berkshire Hathaway).

But there’s one more thing that connects them. Can you guess what it is?

Each one has been the CEO of their company for over 20 years. Bezos and Buffet both founded their respective companies, while Amos followed in the footsteps of his...

Mark Cole: The Choice Is Yours

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Without question, choices play the biggest role in how our lives turn out. Some people make their lives difficult by making questionable choices. Others move through life easier because of good choices they’ve made.

Regardless of which road a person takes, I know this: we don’t always get what we want, but we always get what we choose.

When I think about the tough choices I’ve made, I come to three realizations:

My choices have shown me myself

If you...