Looking for the best and inspirational John C. Maxwell quotes?
John C. Maxwell is the founder of the John C. Maxwell Company, a leadership training and development company with offices in Nashville, Tennessee, and San Diego, California. He has written more than seventy-five books and has recorded over one hundred audio programs on leadership.
Maxwell’s first book was entitled “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You”. His second book had a significant impact on many people around the world called “Developing the Leader Within You: The No-Nonsense Approach to Becoming a Leader,” which is based on his journey from an insurance salesman to a successful businessman who achieved success by applying these principles of leadership in his life.
For a daily dose of inspiration, here are some of the most powerful quotes by one of our time’s greatest leaders. This is sure to get your gears turning and help you become a better leader and achieve success in any field.
105 Inspirational John C. Maxwell Quotes
The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure.”
“If we are growing we are always going to be outside our comfort zone.”
“Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time.”
“Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential.”
“You don’t overcome challenges by making them smaller but by making yourself bigger.”
“A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.”
“To change your life you need to change your priorities.”
“Most people want to avoid pain, and discipline is usually painful.”
“Learn to say ‘no’ to the good so you can say ‘yes’ to the best.”
“People may hear your words, but they feel your attitude.”
“Success comes to those who have an entire mountain of gold that they continually mine, not those who find one nugget and try to live on it for fifty years.”
“Often people fail to start or complete a task because they don’t see any connection between what they’re doing and what they really want to accomplish in life.”
“Success each day should be judged by the seeds sown, not the harvest reaped.”
“A minute of thought is greater than an hour of talk.”
“Success is…knowing your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others.”
“People who use time wisely spend it on activities that advance their overall purpose in life.”
“Everything begins with a decision. Then, we have to manage that decision for the rest of your life.”
“If you wouldn’t follow yourself, why should anyone else?” John C. Maxwell
“If we’re growing, we’re always going to be out of our comfort zone.”
“The greatest day in your life and mine is when we take total responsibility for our attitudes. That’s the day we truly grow up.”
“What you are going to be tomorrow, you are today.”
“Everything rises and falls on leadership.”
“A successful person finds the right place for himself. But a successful leader finds the right place for others”
“Life is 10% of what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.”
“If you want to be a leader, the good news is that you can do it. Everyone has the potential, but it isn’t accomplished overnight. It requires perseverance.”
“As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behavior. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to become. Take action on your behavior. Too many people want to feel, then take action. This never works.”
“Time is more valuable than money, because time is irreplaceable. ”
“Success is due to our stretching to the challenges of life. Failure comes when we shrink from them.”
“The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure.”
“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.”
“When a person starts to talk about their dreams, it’s as if something bubbles up from within. Their eyes brighten, their face glows, and you can feel the excitement in their words.”
“The best way a mentor can prepare another leader is to expose him or her to other great people.”
“If you want to be the best leader you can possibly be, no matter how much or how little natural leadership talent you possess, you need to become a serving leader.”
“The greatest mistake we make is living in constant fear that we will make one.”
“Speak the truth. Transparency breeds legitimacy.”
“One of the major keys to success is to keep moving forward on the journey, making the best of the detours and interruptions, turning adversity into advantage.”
“Growth inside fuels growth outside.”
“All of the people in my life whom I consider to be close friends or colleagues are good thinkers.”
“Doing the wrong thing daily, compounds over time.”
“A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.”
“Creative leaders inherently know when rules need to be challenged, and they can see when a more flexible approach should be taken.”
“Failing forward” is the ability to get back up after you’ve been knocked down, learn from your mistake, and move forward in a better direction.”
“Courage isn’t an absence of fear. It’s doing what you are afraid to do. It’s having the power to let go of the familiar and forge ahead into new territory.”
“Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.”
“Without failure there is no achievement.”
“Failed plans should not be interpreted as a failed vision. Visions don’t change, they are only refined. Plans rarely stay the same, and are scrapped or adjusted as needed. Be stubborn about the vision, but flexible with your plan.”
“If you don’t change the direction you are going, then you’re likely to end up where you’re heading.”
“Growth is the great separator between those who succeed and those who don’t.”
“Time management is an oxymoron. Time is beyond our control, and the clock keeps ticking regardless of how we lead our lives. Priority management is the answer to maximizing the time we have.”
“Pride deafens us to the advice or warnings of those around us.”
“If you wouldn’t follow yourself, why should anyone else?”
“Everyone has the potential to become an encourager. You don’t have to be rich. You don’t have to be a genius. You don’t have to have it all together. All you have to do is care about people and initiate. ”
“We cannot become what we need by remaining what we are.”
“There are two paths people can take. They can either play now and pay later, or pay now and play later. Regardless of the choice, one thing is certain. Life will demand a payment.”
“If you start today to do the right thing, you are already a success even if it doesn’t show yet.”
“The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda.”
“Stay focused instead of getting offended or off track by others.”
“Most People have a desire to look for the exception instead of the desire to become exceptional.”
“Reaching the top is a monumental achievement, but remaining there may be the most spectacular feat of all.”
“Leaders who are effective are leaders who are disciplined in their daily lives.”
“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.”
“Happiness simply cannot be relied upon as a measure of success.”
“Leaders don’t rise to the pinnacle of success without developing the right set of attitudes and habits; they make every day a masterpiece.”
“A lack of realism in the vision today costs credibility tomorrow.”
“Make a point to continually search for a better way of doing things, even when things are going well, to ensure that a better alternative has not been overlooked and to keep your creative talents in practice.”
“Teamwork makes the dream work, but a vision becomes a nightmare when the leader has a big dream and a bad team.”
“Earn the right to be heard by listening to others. Seek to understand a situation before making judgments about it.”
“The challenge of leadership is to create change and facilitate growth.”
“When you are full of pride on the inside, it makes you stiff, stubborn, and creates strife with others.”
“When people respect you as a person, they admire you. When they respect you as a friend, they love you. When they respect you as a leader, they follow you.”
“Life can be boring unless you put some effort into it.”
“Doing the right thing daily, compounds over time.”
“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.”
“Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.”
“You build trust with others each time you choose integrity over image, truth over convenience, or honor over personal gain.”
“To add value to others, one must first value others.”
“When the leader lacks confidence, the followers lack commitment.”
“Talent is a gift, but character is a choice.”
“The unsuccessful person is burdened by learning, and prefers to walk down familiar paths. Their distaste for learning stunts their growth and limits their influence.”
“As a leader, the first person I need to lead is me. The first person that I should try to change is me.”
“You cannot overestimate the unimportance of practically everything.”
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”
“Dreams don’t work unless you do.”
“People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.”
“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.”
“Growth is the great separator between those who succeed and those who do not. When I see a person beginning to separate themselves from the pack, it’s almost always due to personal growth.”
“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”
“Enjoyment is an incredible energizer to the human spirit.”
“Although it’s admirable to be ambitious and hard-working, it’s more desirable to be smart-working.”
“Educators take something simple and make it complicated. Communicators take something complicated and make it simple.”
“The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.”
“Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.”
“The more seriously you take your growth, the more seriously your people will take you.”
“To lead yourself, use your head; to lead others, use your heart. Always touch a person’s heart before you ask him for a hand.”
“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”
“The only guarantee for failure is to stop trying”
“The growth and development of people is the highest calling of a leader.”
“Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.”
“The timing of your decision is just as important as the decision you make.”
“The dreams and passions stored within hearts are powerful keys which can unlock a wealth of potential.”
“Anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course. Leaders who are good navigators are capable of taking their people just about anywhere.”
“If you don’t change the direction you are going, then you’re likely to end up where you’re heading…”
“The way you live your life today is preparing you for tomorrow. The question is what are you preparing for?”
“The best leaders are humble enough to realize their victories depend upon their people.”
