100 Top & Most Popular John Maxwell Quotes

John Maxwell Quotes

About John Maxwell

John Calvin Maxwell is an American author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership. Titles include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. His books have sold millions of copies, with some on the New York Times Best Seller List. 
Born: 20 February 1947 (age 76 years), Garden City, Michigan, United States

100 Top Quotes by John Maxwell in English

  1. “Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.”
  2. “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”
  3. “Success is not a destination, it’s a journey. The true success is the person you become along the way.”
  4. “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
  5. “The greatest mistake we make is living in constant fear that we will make one.”
  6. “Teamwork makes the dream work, but a vision becomes a nightmare when the leader has a big dream and a bad team.”
  7. “The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.”
  8. “The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure.”
  9. “Leadership is not about being in charge. It’s about taking care of those in your charge.”
  10. “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.”
  1. “Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.”
  2. “Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.”
  3. “The best leaders are readers of people. They have the intuitive ability to understand others by discerning how they feel and recognizing what they sense.”
  4. “Talent is a gift, but character is a choice.”
  5. “The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”
  6. “A successful person finds the right place for himself. But a successful leader finds the right place for others.”
  7. “The only guarantee for failure is to stop trying.”
  8. “If you want to be a leader who attracts quality people, the key is to become a person of quality yourself.”
  9. “Good leaders must communicate vision clearly, creatively, and continually. However, the vision doesn’t come alive until the leader models it.”
  10. “If you start today to do the right thing, you are already a success even if it doesn’t show yet.”
  11. “Leadership is not about being in a position of power. It’s about empowering others.”
  12. “The more seriously you take your growth, the more seriously your people will take you.”
  13. “The greatest gift a leader can give is time and attention to his or her followers.”
  14. “Success is when your signature becomes an autograph.”
  15. “The difference between where you are today and where you’ll be five years from now will be found in the quality of books you’ve read.”
  16. “People may hear your words, but they feel your attitude.”
  17. “Great leaders are willing to sacrifice their own personal interests for the good of the team.”
  18. “One of the greatest values of mentors is the ability to see ahead what others cannot see and to help them navigate a course to their destination.”
  19. “The best way a mentor can prepare another leader is to expose him or her to other great people.”
  20. “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.”
  21. “In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.”
  22. “Leadership is not about being in charge. It’s about taking care of those in your charge.”
  23. “The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.”
  24. “The secret of success is to do the common things uncommonly well.”
  25. “A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.”
  26. “A leader who produces other leaders multiplies their influences.”
  27. “A leader is great not because of his or her power, but because of his or her ability to empower others.”
  28. “Success is not a destination, it’s a journey. The true success is the person you become along the way.”
  29. “A leader’s attitude is caught by his or her followers more than his or her actions.”
  30. “Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.”
  1. “The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes.”
  2. “You don’t overcome challenges by making them smaller but by making yourself bigger.”
  3. “The measure of a leader is not the number of people who serve him but the number of people he serves.”
  4. “A good leader is a person who can take a little adversity and turn it into a learning experience for everyone.”
  5. “Success is knowing your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others.”
  6. “A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.”
  7. “You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.”
  8. “The greatest enemy of progress is your last success.”
  9. “A leader is someone who demonstrates what’s possible.”
  10. “A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.”
  11. “A leader’s lasting value is measured by succession.”
  12. “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
  13. “A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit.”
  14. “Talent management deserves as much focus as financial capital management in corporations.”
  15. “If you don’t have peace, it isn’t because someone took it from you; you gave it away. You cannot always control what happens to you, but you can control what happens in you.”
  16. “To add value to others, one must first value others.”
  17. “Don’t just learn, experience. Don’t just read, absorb. Don’t just change, transform. Don’t just relate, advocate. Don’t just promise, prove. Don’t just criticize, encourage. Don’t just think, ponder. Don’t just take, give. Don’t just see, feel. Don’t just dream, do. Don’t just hear, listen. Don’t just talk, act. Don’t just tell, show. Don’t just exist, live.”
  18. “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.”
  19. “If you’re not failing, you’re not growing.”
  20. “A successful person finds the right place for himself. But a successful leader finds the right place for others.”
  21. “If we’re growing, we’re always going to be out of our comfort zone.”
  22. “People may hear your words, but they feel your attitude.”
  23. “A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.”
  24. “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”
  25. “We cannot become what we need by remaining what we are.”
  26. “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.”
  27. “The only guarantee for failure is to stop trying.”
  28. “The greatest mistake we make is living in constant fear that we will make one.”
  29. “The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.”
  30. “Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.”
  31. “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
  32. “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
  33. “A leader is someone who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”
  1. “A leader is not one who knows all the answers, but one who knows how to ask the right questions.”
  2. “People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.”
  3. “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
  4. “Teamwork makes the dream work, but a vision becomes a nightmare when the leader has a big dream and a bad team.”
  5. “The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.”
  6. “The difference between a boss and a leader: a boss says ‘Go!’ – a leader says ‘Let’s go!'”
  7. “Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.”
  8. “The more seriously you take your growth, the more seriously your people will take you.”
  9. “The greatest gift a leader can give their people is the belief that they are capable of achieving great things.”
  10. “A leader’s job is not to do the work for others, it’s to help others figure out how to do it themselves, to get things done, and to succeed beyond what they thought possible.”
  11. “Leadership is not a position or a title, it is action and example.”
  12. “Success is not a destination, it’s a journey.”
  13. “A leader’s most powerful ally is their own example.”
  14. “Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge.”
  15. “The greatest leaders mobilize others by coalescing people around a shared vision.”
  16. “Leadership is not about being the boss. It is about taking care of those who are in your charge.”
  17. “The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority.”
  18. “A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.”
  19. “People may hear your words, but they feel your attitude.”
  20. “The best leaders are those most interested in surrounding themselves with assistants and associates smarter than they are. They are frank in admitting this and are willing to pay for such talents.”
  21. “The best leaders are clear. They continually light the way, and in the process, let each person know that what they do makes a difference.”
  22. “Great leaders are willing to sacrifice their own personal interests for the good of the team.”
  23. “The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.”
  24. “A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.”
  25. “If you want to be an effective leader, you must learn to speak to people’s hearts. You must see beyond their faces and into their hearts.”
  26. “The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda.”
  27. “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.

FAQs:

Who is John Maxwell?

John Maxwell is an American author, speaker, and leadership expert known for his books on leadership and personal growth.

What are some of John Maxwell’s most famous works?

Some of John Maxwell’s most famous works include “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership,” “Developing the Leader Within You,” and “The 5 Levels of Leadership.”

What is John Maxwell’s philosophy on leadership?

John Maxwell’s philosophy on leadership is centered on the idea that leadership is not about titles or positions, but about influence and the ability to positively impact others.

Has John Maxwell won any awards?

Yes, John Maxwell has won numerous awards throughout his career, including the International Association of Speakers Bureaus’ Hall of Fame Award and the National Speakers Association’s Council of Peers Award for Excellence.

Does John Maxwell have any organizations or programs related to leadership development?

Yes, John Maxwell has several organizations and programs related to leadership development, including the John Maxwell Team, the John Maxwell Leadership Foundation, and the Maxwell Leadership Assessment.

Does John Maxwell offer coaching or consulting services?

Yes, John Maxwell offers coaching and consulting services to individuals and organizations looking to improve their leadership skills.

Has John Maxwell served in any leadership roles outside of his writing and speaking career?

Yes, John Maxwell has served in various leadership roles throughout his life, including as a pastor, a missionary, and as the chairman of the board for EQUIP, a non-profit organization dedicated to leadership development.

Does John Maxwell have any involvement in charitable work?

Yes, John Maxwell is involved in several charitable causes, including supporting organizations that work to combat human trafficking and providing educational opportunities for underprivileged children.

Has John Maxwell collaborated with any other notable figures?

Yes, John Maxwell has collaborated with several other notable figures in the leadership and personal growth fields, including Steven Covey, Tony Robbins, and Les Brown.

What is John Maxwell’s legacy?

John Maxwell’s legacy is his contribution to the field of leadership development and his ability to inspire individuals and organizations to improve their leadership skills and positively impact others. His work has been influential in both the business and non-profit sectors, and has helped countless individuals to reach their full potential.