The setting was midwestern America during the Depression, in an average town, with ordinary people, all looking to simply survive. A young boy enters a store and, in keeping with the times, asks the store owner if he can work for him that day. “I can’t afford to hire anyone, son,” the owner says. “That’s…

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When motivational speakers make the impassioned declaration: “You can change the world!” a typical response may be to write them off as naïve windbags.We would agree that such exhortation rings hollow. Nevertheless, we do think leaders have the ability to inspire others to amazing, even history-shaping, feats. Perhaps no one did so better than Winston…

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Adversity in life is a given. Although it’s never going to escape the picture, we don’t have to see it as a negative. We can triumph over obstacles we encounter each day to ultimately gain great experience from them. According to John Maxwell in his soon-to-be-released book, Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn: “Adversity can…

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Leaders vary by occupation, personality, and style. There’s no specific formula specifying exactly how to lead well. Still, great leaders throughout history share a common set of characteristics. In this article, we would like to fill in the picture of a leader for you—one quality at a time. The four features listed certainly do not…

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“As you get older, you will find that you become more disappointed by the things you didn’t attempt than by the ones you tried and failed to achieve. And here’s the best news. Every step of the way there’s something to learn. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called life. In it, there…

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Who is responsible for what happens in your life? Do you believe you should take personal responsibility? Or do you feel as if that is outside of your control and there’s little or nothing you can do about it? Psychologists say that some people possess an internal locus of control, where they rely primarily on…

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In less than a month, my new book, Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn, will be available. I can hardly wait! I’m excited about this book because I believe that how we deal with loss and disappointment has a huge impact on our lives. One of the most crucial decisions we can make after we…

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Some people fail forward. Others fail and quickly spiral downward. These two types of people are very different, but how? “The difference is on the inside. It’s the spirit of the individual. Those who profit from adversity possess a spirit of humility and are therefore inclined to make the necessary changes needed to learn from…

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Masterful chefs fuse diverse ingredients into a coherent, tasty whole. When cooking, they perform a kind of culinary balancing act, deftly bringing spices and seasonings into perfect harmony. Each element of the dish touches the tongue with its flavor, and yet none overwhelms the rest. Great leaders combine an assortment of skills into a single…

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