John C. Maxwell Giving Quotations

When your dream is bigger than you are, you only have two choices: give up or get help.

People who add value to others do so intentionally. I say that because to add value, leaders must give of themselves, and that rarely occurs by accident.

Growth demands a temporary surrender of security. It may mean giving up familiar but limiting patterns, safe but unrewarding work, values no longer believed in, and relationships that have lost their meaning.

God gives us resources according to our dreams and according to our obedience. And God doesn't give those resources until we've started walking in obedience.

If a leader cannot give you a clear picture of what he or she sees in the future, that person is not the leader of that organization.

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.

Why would God send people to our church if we don't have a great dream? Why would God give a multigifted, multitalented, and multifinancially wealthy person to a church if the biggest thing you are going to do is paint the restrooms next year? That's bad stewardship.

My potential is what God gives me - that's His gift to me - what I give back to Him is what I do with that potential.

I've worked very hard at giving excellent training and good materials, resources, books, and then the corporate community gives me respect. And I'm finding now that they really want a relationship with me, they're letting me in their lives, and of course, when you get in their lives you find a tremendous need for God.

God gives us the vision, then He expects us to walk in obedience. As we do, the resources we need come to us.

A leader can give up anything - except final responsibility.

Seven Steps to Success 1) Make a commitment to grow daily. 2) Value the process more than events. 3) Don't wait for inspiration. 4) Be willing to sacrifice pleasure for opportunity. 5) Dream big. 6) Plan your priorities. 7) Give up to go up.

When you find your spiritual gift, God will give you an opportunity to use it.

A person who has a dream knows what he is willing to give up in order to go up.

What you give to help others, builds them up enough that they are able to give to others. It's a cycle that can continue on long after you're dead and gone.

People are not going to give you a vision, but God can.

There are pockets of the church that will "give up," and reap a bountiful harvest. They are going to have huge success, like the church has never experienced since the Book of Acts.

Giving is the highest level of living.

Passion gives you an advantage over others, because one person with passion is greater than ninety-nine who have only an interest!

Effective leaders don't gather things just for themselves; they do it in order to give to others.

Everyone gets discourages...The question is: Are you going to give up or get up? It's a choice.

Remember, at the time God gives us a vision, we never have the resources available to accomplish it. We don't have the people, the money, the knowledge, or the opportunity.

The church that will not give up will be outdated and passed by, quicker than they realize.

In my leadership conferences, pastors ask, "Do you have a vision for my church?" Many times they want me to give them a picture of where they should go and what their church should look like. When these pastors do this, I always feel bad.

The best gift you can ever give your mentor is to grow. They feed off your growth. I believe that everyone has the seed of success inside, but too many people can't find it in themselves and as a result do not reach their potential. But there are those whose purpose in life is to fertilize the seed of potential in another, who are rewarded by seeing that person grow and blossom before their eyes. Raising up others to a higher level is a mentor's joy and sustenance.

Everything is a tradeoff. Everywhere you leave, you leave some good things. The more successful you are, the harder it is to make tradeoffs. That's why some people become successful and then become flat. Be willing to give up income for potential, for opportunity.

The rallying call to people is to give them hope. When you have hope, that's huge.

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

All visions begin with relationships. My relationship with God is where I receive the vision; my relationship with my people is where I give the vision. If those relationships aren't what they could be or should be, on either side, the receiving or the giving out, the vision is going to be aborted.

When I was 17, I made the decision to have a good attitude. I was a junior in high school; the coach said I was going to be the captain of my basketball team. I thought - that surprised me because I wasn't the best player. And I kept thinking, "Why am I going to be the captain?" I think everybody else was thinking that too. And the coach then answered, "The reason John is going to be the captain is he has the best attitude on the team. He encourages others, he believes we can win, he never gives up."

Out of what I had received in my development, I was also able to give. The confidence I gained from personal growth gave me credibility and made me believe I could start developing others. And in that, I found life's greatest joy and reward.

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.

God will give to you what He knows will flow through you.

..Give them your faith, and they become confident, energized, and self-reliant.

It's better to give ideas away and contribute to another person's success than to have them lying dormant.

God wants to be our partner throughout life. Too often we are tempted to either carry the entire load ourselves or give everything to God and do nothing. God doesn't like either strategy. Sometimes He moves before us and sometimes after us - but He doesn't move without us. Without God... we cannot. Without us... God will not.

The trials and pressures of life--and how we face them--often define us. Confronted by adversity, many people give up while others rise up. How do those who succeed do it? They persevere. They find the benefit to them personally that comes from any trial. And they recognize that the best thing about adversity is coming out on the other side of it. There is a sweetness to overcoming your troubles and finding something good in the process, however small it may be. Giving up when adversity threatens can make a person bitter. Persevering through adversity makes one better.

Delegate - work smarter not harder; do what you do best and drop the rest; get control of your calendar; do what you love because it will give you energy; work with people you like so your energy isn't depleted.

A person's level of income and their desire to give have nothing to do with one another.

To gain credibility, you must consistently demonstrate three things: Initiative: You have to get up to go up. Sacrifice: You have to give up to go up. Maturity: You have to grow up to go up. If you show the way, people will want to follow you. The higher you go, the greater the number of people who will be willing to travel with you.

If you want to help others and become a person of influence, keep smiling, sharing, giving, and turning the other cheek.

Goals may give focus, but dreams give power.

People do not give from the top of their purses but from the bottom of their hearts. If you desire to become a more generous person do not change your income. Change your heart.

What is your legacy? Are you intentional about the sort of influence you want to have on the world around you? Being aware of how you want to be remembered gives you a perspective on what is truly important. Leadership is influence, and relationships are the foundation of leadership. Nothing is more predictive of your legacy than the quality of people you surround yourself with.

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

If you're not doing something with your life, then it doesn’t matter how long you live. If you're doing something with your life, then it doesn't matter how short your life may be. A life is not measured by years lived, but by its usefulness. If you are giving, loving, serving, helping, encouraging, and adding value to others, then you're living a life that counts!

Become a coach, not a king. A coach brings out the best in others, helping them to reach deep down inside and discover their potential. A king only gives commands.

If you want to keep giving you have to keep growing.

Give God the first part of every day. Give God the first day of every week. Give God the first portion of your income. Give God the first consideration in every decision. Give God the first place in your life.