John C. Maxwell's Blog, page 29

Elisha: Give Your Best Wherever God Puts You

Elijah has been gone from the room for a while, but the impact of his presence continues to linger. What a powerful man. We can tell that we have been in the presence of a giant of the faith. So I’m surprised when I look up and realize that the next mentor is already in the room, waiting for us to greet him. I wonder why we didn’t hear him coming.He is dressed in worn but sturdy work clothes, the kind of things a laborer might wear in the fields. There’s nothing fancy about him. He has a no-n...

Decisions You’ll Be Thankful You Made

“Life is a one-way street. No matter how many detours you take, none of them leads back. And once you know and accept that, life becomes much simpler.”~ Isabel MooreChoices have consequences that stalk us like a shadow. The effects of decisions made early in life affect our wealth, relational health, and emotional wellbeing. Since it’s incredibly difficult to elude or escape them, the wisest course of action is to make choices early in life that have helpful rather than harmful repercussions....

Gratitude: How to Grow Through Whatever You Go Through

The helmetless rider inadvertently struck a curb with her all-terrain vehicle and plunged over a six-foot drop-off, violently crash-landing on the ground below. The wreck left six-time Olympic gold medalist, Amy Van Dyken-Rouen, clinging to life. Airlifted to a nearby medical facility, she underwent a seven-hour operation during which doctors diligently labored to save her life. The accident very nearly severed her spinal cord, and it fractured vertebrae in her back, broken pieces of which ca...

Learning from the Giants

No, not those Giants. (Although I’m sure there are many lessons we could learn from this year’s World Series winners the San Francisco Giants.) Instead, I’m talking about the giants of the faith whose stories are captured in the Bible.Imagine you could spend a day being mentored by some of the giants of the faith, the men and women of the Old Testament who fought and won great battles, served kings, endured great hardship for God, and came out on the other side transformed. What if they could...

Letting Gratitude Enrich Your Life

The surest index of your spiritual and emotional well-being is the degree of gratitude in your life. Where does gratitude come from, and how can we grow in gratefulness?Grateful people linger over life’s blessingsThe English word “thank” shares the same root as “think.” Thankfulness is intimately connected to thoughtfulness. We can’t be grateful without being mindful of the many benefits we enjoy in life and conscious of the rich blessings we have been given. Grateful people take time to rejo...

Question the Answers to Answer the Questions

This week, John and I were at the SUCCESS Partners CEO Summit in Laguna Beach, California. John was discussing his new book, Good Leaders Ask Great Questions. What a great book for leaders desiring to increase their influence! After sharing for 45 minutes, he went into a Q & A session. Some of my favorite times with John these days are in these sessions where John answers questions from the audience. When asked how he can answer questions with such depth and insight without preparation, he re...

Leaders Fare Better By Thinking Together

He that is taught only by himself has a fool for a master.~ Ben JohnsonHe who builds to every man’s advice will have a crooked house.~ Danish ProverbThe twin dangers for a leader are to refuse advice from anyone or to take advice from everyone. Smart leaders navigate between these two extremes, selectively choosing people from whom to seek input and counsel. The success of a leader depends on the quality of questions she asks and the caliber of person to whom she asks them.Young leaders often...

Curiosity May Have Killed the Cat, But It Will Build the Leader

“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”~ Albert EinsteinCuriosity = AskingYou only get answers to the questions you ask. There is a yawning chasm separating the person who neither formulates interesting questions nor asks for help and the person who poses profound questions to others and solicits their advice. People who fail to ask questions live in a mental fog. Trapped in the limitations of their own perspective, they have difficulty seeing their present situation clea...

What Were Your Key Takeaways from L2: Learn-Lead?

Just two weeks ago, I had the privilege of participating in The John Maxwell Company’s first ever L2:Learn-Lead Simulcast. And it was a great experience! Of course, I enjoyed delivering my lesson on the ideas in my new book, Good Leaders Ask Great Questions. But I also took away some amazing insights listening to our two other speakers, Linda Kaplan Thaler and Tim Sanders.Linda, the CEO of Publicis Kaplan Thaler, a very successful advertising agency in New York, shared about the importance of...

Why Leaders Lose Their Curiosity

What causes leaders to quit being inquisitive? Leaders stop asking questions, and stunt their growth, due to insecurity, low self-esteem, arrogance, contentment, and distractedness. Let’s take a moment to examine each reason.InsecurityAs leaders, we know others are looking to us for guidance, and thus we’re reluctant to reveal a lack of competence. After all, we want others to have confidence in our ability to lead. However, without inviting others to give you input, you not only won’t go as...