Leadership Gold

• Loneliness is not a positional issue; it is a personality issue.
• There is a big difference between a boss and a leader. A boss says, “Go.” A leader says, “Let’s go”.
• People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.
• If on your own you can fulfill the vision you have for your life and work, then you’re aiming too low.
• Human nature seems to endow us with the ability to size up everybody in the world except ourselves.
• We tend to judge others according to their actions. It’s very cut-and-dried. However, we judge ourselves by our intentions.
• When we are foolish, we want to conquer the world. When we are wise, we want to conquer ourselves.
• Defining moments put the spotlight on us… Our character isn’t made during these times- it is displayed.
• Those who do not study history are destined to repeat its mistakes.
• With opportunities come risks, but don’t be afraid to take them. It is in moments of risk that the greatest leaders are often born.
• Criticism is something you can avoid easily- by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.
• Real confidence comes from knowing and accepting yourself- your strengths and limitations- in contrast to depending on affirmation from others.
• When we were growing up, a lot of us spent a good deal of time worrying about what the world thought of us. Now I’m sixty, and realize the world really wasn’t paying much attention.
• Being who you really are is the first step in becoming better than you are.
• Following your passion is the key to finding your potential.
• Don’t put live eggs under dead chickens. (That’s what opportunities are to people without passion.)
• Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand.
• It is no accident that we have one mouth and two ears.
• A deaf ear is the first symptom of a closed mind.
• One of the greatest gifts you can give anyone is the gift of attention.
• Find out what you do well and keep on doing it.
• Almost every man wastes part of his life in attempts to display qualities which he does not possess.
• People change only when they hurt enough that they have to, learn enough that they want to, or receive enough that they’re able to.
• Control your destiny, or someone else will. Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it were. Be candid with everyone. Don’t manage, lead. Change before you have to.
• Self-deception can cost you your vision.
• The situation is often worse than you think. The process usually takes longer than you thing. And the price always costs more than you think.
• The greatest fool is the one who fools himself.
• Defining reality is the starting point. It’s like finding “you are here” on a map before trying to get where you’re going.
• People may teach what they know, but reproduce what they are.
• You can buy a man’s time; you can buy his physical presence at a given place; you can even buy a measured number of his skilled muscular motions per hour. But you cannot buy enthusiasm… you cannot buy loyalty… you cannot buy the devotion of hearts, minds or souls. You must earn these.
• As a leader, you should always challenge people to move out of their comfort zone, but never out of their strength zone.
• The business schools reward difficult, complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective.
• It’s better to know the most important things than to know everything.
• Half of being smart is knowing what you’re dumb at.
• Genius is the ability to reduce the complicated to the simple.
• Ignorance isn’t bliss.
• When it comes to success, it’s not the number of mistakes you make; it’s the number of times you make the same mistake.
• Good people are good because they have come to wisdom through failure. We get very little wisdom from success.
• Translate the dollar value of the house, car, or anything else into time, and then see if it’s still worth it.
• Time is the most valuable coin in your life. You and you alone will determine how that coin will be spent. Be careful that you do not let other people spend it for you.
• I focused more on fulfilling my vision than fulfilling other’s expectations.
• To grow, you have to be intentional.
• Every person we meet has the potential to teach us something.
• The greatest obstacle to discovery isn’t ignorance or lack of intelligence. It’s the illusion of knowledge.
• You can’t conquer the world by staying in a safe harbor.
• The average person will try to pull down anyone around him who is working to rise above average.
• Many people would rather deal with old problems than find new solutions.
• The tough call demands risk.
• All significant battles are waged within self. They are the inner test, like remaining faithful when nobody’s looking.
• Some cause happiness wherever they go. Some cause happiness whenever they go.
• When bob has a problem with everyone, Bob is usually the problem.
• The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure.
• The arrogance of the young is a direct result of not having known enough consequences.
• You cannot gain experience without paying a price. You just have to hope that the price is not greater than the value of the experience you gain.
• Experience gives the test first and the lesson later.
• Don’t just learn something from every experience. Learn something positive.
• Good planning always costs less than good reacting.
• Success is fleeting- but relationships are lasting.
• Successful people make right decisions early and manage those decisions daily.
• There is a choice you have to make in everything you do. So keep in mind that in the end, the choice you make, makes you.
• Never try to be better than others, but be the best you can be.
• Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better.
• Some people want what they don’t need and need what they don’t want.
• Yesterday ended last night.
• Opportunities never look as good coming as they do going, and they wait for no one.
• New beginnings can only come from old endings.
• The greatest detriment to tomorrow’s success is today’s success.
• Success does not mean simply being busy.
• He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask is a fool forever.
• Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions and as a result, they get better answers.
• You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.
• The average man does not know what to do with his life, yet wants another one which will last forever.
• Most people don’t lead their lives; they just accept them.
• We have made at least a start in discovering the meaning in human life when we plant shade trees under which we know full well we will never sit.

Souce: Leadership Gold by John C. Maxwell