John C. Maxwell

You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret to your success is found in your daily routine.

You will find many big-picture thinkers who aren’t leaders, but you will find few leaders who are not big-picture thinkers.

As Winston Churchill said, ‘There comes a special moment in everyone’s life, a moment for which that person was born. . . . When he seizes it . . . it is his finest hour.

As you think about your goals, note that they should be clear enough to be kept in focus, close enough to be achieved, and helpful enough to change lives.

You must reject common thinking if you want to accomplish uncommon results.

Am I implementing strategic plans that give me direction for today and increase my potential for tomorrow?

Insulate yourself from distractions. I’ve found that I need blocks of time to think without interruptions. I’ve mastered the art of making myself unavailable when necessary and going off to my ‘thinking place’ so that I can work without interruptions.

Before teaching any lesson, I ask myself three questions: ‘Do I believe it? Do I live it? Do I believe others should live it?’

The difference between where we are and where we want to be is created by the changes we are willing to make in our lives. When you want something you have never had, you must do something you’ve never done to get it. Otherwise, you keep getting the same results.

Comparing yourself to others is really just a needless distraction. The only one you should compare yourself to is you. Your mission is to become better today than you were yesterday.

Master the basics. Then practice them every day without fail. Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time.

No one likes it when they’re in the middle of a bad experience. It’s usually just painful. But if they manage the experience well, then they enjoy talking about it afterward. It becomes a great war story.

Anyone who does what he must only when he is in the mood or when it’s convenient isn’t going to be successful. The secret is following through.

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

Motivation gets you going, but discipline keeps you growing. That’s the Law of Consistency. It doesn’t matter how talented you are. It doesn’t matter how many opportunities you receive. If you want to grow, consistency is key.

People say there are two great days in a person’s life: the day you were born and the day you discover why. I want to encourage you to seek what you were put on this earth to do. Then pursue it with all your effort.

It occurred to me that if you focus on goals, you may hit goals—but that doesn’t always guarantee growth. If you focus on growth, you will grow and always hit goals.

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

Do something you hate everyday, just for the practice.

Leaders who practice the Law of Victory have no Plan B. That is why they keep fighting.

Leaders cannot lose trust and continue to influence others. Trust is the foundation of leadership.

If I need to be inspired to take steps forward, then I’ll attend an event. If I want to improve, then I’ll engage in a process and stick with it.

Leadership is influence—nothing more, nothing less.

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.

Baseball great Babe Ruth is rumored to have said, ‘Yesterday’s homerun doesn’t win today’s game.’ Isn’t that fantastic? It’s a good reminder to focus on today. What we did in the past may look good on a resume, but it won’t help us win today.

My desire is that my one sentence would say, ‘He still lives on in this world.’ My hope is that what I taught leaders will be woven into their lives and continue to help others after I’m dead and gone. The goal in life is not to live on forever but to create something that does.

God gave me a dream bigger than myself. It was so intimidating that I had only two choices: give up or get help.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, ‘Our chief want in life is somebody who shall make us do what we can.’

Business magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie said, ‘It marks a big step in your development when you come to realize that other people can help you do a better job than you could have done.’

Benjamin Franklin said, ‘Empty the coins of your purse into your mind and your mind will fill your purse with coins.’ What a great way to think about it. Be willing to invest in yourself.

I love his phrase: live on the other side of ‘yes.’ I believe what he’s talking about is seizing opportunities. When we do that, we’re like Lori Greiner who wrote, ‘Dear Optimist, Pessimist and Realist-- While you guys were busy arguing about the glass of [water], I drank it! Sincerely, The Opportunist.

As Mother Teresa said, ‘Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.’

How does a leader do more than just hang on and survive in such an environment? The key is to learn how to continually make leadershifts. What is a leadershift? It is an ability and willingness to make a leadership change that will positively enhance organizational and personal growth.

People who desire to fail forward must turn their attention away from themselves and toward helping others.

Good golfers don’t dwell on bad performances—not if they want to remain good golfers.

Do you expect to do everything perfectly? Do you expect to succeed on the first try? How many mistakes should you expect to make before you succeed? Adjust your expectations.

Nothing worth achieving comes easily. The only way to fail forward and achieve your dreams is to cultivate tenacity and persistence. These qualities can be learned, partly by developing the habit of following through on your commitments when you don’t feel like it.