John C. Maxwell Quotations | Page 5

Never allow others to put obstacles in the pathway of your dreams

Happiness simply cannot be relied upon as a measure of success.

The church that will not give up will be outdated and passed by, quicker than they realize.

The Visalus Founders are the finest and sharpest young leaders that I have ever met.

The process of achievement comes through repeated failures and the constant struggle to climb to a higher level.

The key word in the church community is relationships, you know brother and sister in Christ.

If you have great people around you, they will take you higher than your dream will. Leaders are never self-made. Those closest to you determine your level of success, so choosing the right companions as partners in pursuit of your vision is an important decision. My advice is to surround yourself with talented people who will challenge you, help you grow and inspire you to maximize your potential.

Brokenness involves removing inappropriate pride and self-reliance and building healthy God-reliance.

Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand.

I think many people believe the best way they can help others is to criticize them, to give them the benefit of their 'wisdom.' I disagree. The best way to help people is to see the best in them.

Once our minds are 'tattooed' with negative thinking, our chances for long-term success diminish.

If the church is going to make a difference, it will need to go through the "big give-up" stage. Churches will need to quit being selfish and become relevant.

Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.

The position does not make you a leader. The title, the promotion, the fancy corner office do not make you a leader. No, it is relationships with people that are the foundation, the very heart of leadership. Have you ever worked for someone you didn't like? It's difficult, isn't it? On the other hand, the leader you will follow anywhere and everywhere is one you know cares about you, and values you. This person has your best interests at heart. It is the leader who comes alongside to help you improve and grow.

Most accomplishments in life come more easily if you approach them strategically

There's a tendency for us to think that the secret of our success is something that is mystical and maybe someday my time will come. And it's certainly out there somewhere; it's around the bend; it's at the top of the hill.

Courage and initiative come when you understand your purpose in life.

We don't grow on accident, we grow on purpose.

Pay now, play later; play now, pay later.

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

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

A difficult time can be more readily endured if we retain the conviction that our existence holds a purpose - a cause to pursue, a person to love, a goal to achieve.

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

When it comes to money, you can't win. If you focus on making it, you're materialistic. If you try to but don't make any, you're a loser. If you make a lot and keep it, you're a miser. If you make it and spend it, you're a spendthrift. If you don't care about making it, you're unambitious. If you make a lot and still have it when you die, you're a fool-for trying to take it with you. The only way to really win with money is to hold it loosely-and be generous with it to accomplish things of value.

What I find them struggling most isn't with one of the twelve [things from daily list]; I find them struggling with what decisions to make.

If you want to improve your world, then focus your attention on helping others.

Grow a leader-grow the organization. A company cannot grow without until its leaders grow within.

Without love, there can be no connection, no future, and no success together.

I thought if I was open and honest, it would help the reader to get open and honest, and they also would realize sometimes when you write a book, people think you're an expert and that's not always true.

The greatest of all insights is that we cannot be tomorrow what we do not do today.

As a leader, you have to take responsibility for your own failures as well as successes. That's the only way you'll learn. If you keep learning, you'll improve. If you improve, your leadership will get better. And in time, you will earn the right to lead on the level you deserve.

The more you do, the more you fail. The more you fail, the more you learn. The more you learn, the better you get.

True success comes only when every generation continues to develop the next generation.

Acquiring and keeping good people is a leader's most important task.

A person with an outstanding attitude makes the best of it while he gets the worst of it.

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.

Whenever I mentor people and help them discover their purpose, I always encourage them to start the process by discovering their strengths, not exploring their shortcomings. Why? Because people's purpose in life is always connected to their giftedness. It always works that way. You are not called to do something that you have no talent for. You will discover your purpose by finding and remaining in your strength zone.

To help people believe they can achieve victory, put them in a position to experience small successes.

Your attitude is like the minds paintbrush. It can paint everything in bright, vibrant colors-creating a masterspiece.

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.

Generally speaking, there are two kinds of learning: experience, which is gained from your own mistakes, and wisdom, which is learned from the mistakes of others.

The best way to serve the individuals on the team is to see that the whole team wins.

Life doesn't do anything to you. It only reveals your spirit.

Relational skills are the most important abilities in leadership.

Without a vision our community will perish without Christ, but without a vision the church will perish as well.

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.

Not realizing what you want is a problem of knowledge. Not pursuing what you want is a problem of motivation. Not achieving what you want is a problem of persistence.

Fail early, fail often, but always fail forward.

When the pastor and his or her church have a vision, they will put their energy, time, money, and personnel into achieving it.

A leader who produces other leaders multiples their influences.

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.

You are only an attitude away from success!

I really didn't settle stuff spiritually until I was 17 years of age. But through my teenage years I just knew that someday I had to settle accounts and get things straightened up and move in that direction.

If you don’t change the direction you are going, then you’re likely to end up where you’re heading…

Anyone can steer a ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course

Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential.

The more credible you are, the more confidence people place in you, thereby allowing you the privilege of influencing their lives.

The true measure of your character is what you would do if you were sure no one would ever find out.

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.

I felt the hand and the call of God in my life that I would be doing ministry and trying to serve Him the best that I could.

Integrity is not a given factor in everyone's life. It is a result of self-discipline, inner trust, and a decision to be relentlessly honest in all situations in our lives.

We are either the masters or victims of our attitudes. It is a matter of personal choice. Who we are today is the result of choices we made yesterday. Tomorrow, we will become what we choose today. To change means to choose change.

I started out in the ministry, went to college, started as a pastor, pastored for basically 25 years. That was a good time, I really enjoyed it.

The only thing we can control is what we do in the present. The more we replay yesterday, the further we get from today's opportunities. And the further away we move from opportunities, the tougher the road is to get back. Opportunities never look as good coming as they do going, and they wait for no one. We need to be highly attentive to spot them. And we must be focused on our present capabilities, not past regrets.

Attitude: It is our best friend or our worst enemy.

When we trust God, He can make the ordinary extraordinary!

If you focus on goals, you may hit goals - but that doesn't guarantee growth. If you focus on growth, you will grow and always hit goals.

We often wait for the resources before we make a move.

The more seriously you take your growth, the more seriously your people will take you.

Seek advice, but make sure it's from someone who has successfully handled mistakes or adversities.

Openness by the leader paves the way for ownership by the people. Without ownership, changes will be short term. Changing people's habits and ways of thinking is like writing instructions in the snow during a snowstorm. Every twenty minutes the instructions must be rewritten, unless ownership is given along with instructions.

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.

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.

To grow yourself, you must know yourself.

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

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.

If you want to do something really big, do it as part of a team.

People are never able to outperform their self-image.

If you're a leader, it's important to set aside time to quiet yourself and listen for God's direction.

Most pastors have a hard time grasping a vision. But vision is the indispensable quality of a leader.

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

People will summarize your life in one sentence - Pick it now.

The first step to leadership is servanthood.

Confront your inadequacies and push your personal boundaries: It's the surest way to grow, improve and expand the scope of your influence.

Every relationship in your organization will affect you one way or another. Those who do not increase you will inevitably decrease you.

Many times when people leave churches we think it's a doctrinal issue, but most of the time it's a leadership issue.

Successful people make right decisions early and manage those decisions daily.

People's purpose in life is always connected to their giftedness.

Coming together is a beginning, and staying together is progress, but only when teams sweat together do they find success.

Where there is no hope in the future, there is no power in the present.

When I had something I thought God was talking to me about, the first thing I did, before I ever talked to the congregation, was to sit down with the major influencers of the church and share with them what I thought God was speaking to me. I gave them time for input or questions. Many times they would ask questions and I would reply, "I need to spend more time on this. I'm not sure I'm thinking clearly there." Other times they added value and helped make this vision better or more accessible to the people.

Leaders have two characteristics: first they are going somewhere, and second they are able to persuade other people to go with them.

People naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves.

The better you are at surrounding yourself with people of high potential, the greater your chance for success.

The first order of things to be changed is me, the leader. After I consider how hard it is to change myself, then I will understand the challenge of trying to change others. This is the ultimate test of leadership.

There are a lot of pastors who have a vision and have not yet seen it become a reality.

Dreams require down payments. Dreams are free, but the journey isn't. There is a price to pay. When you find your why you'll find your way. When you develop your will you will embark on your way. Many people start; few people finish. Many people have a dream; few people achieve their dreams.

To move forward today, you must learn to say good-bye to yesterday's hurts, tragedies and baggage. You can't build a monument to past problems and fail forward.

Failure is not fatal. Only failure to get back up is.