Transformation is within me (Transformación Está en Mí)

How do you create positive change? How do you help others do so? How do you help an entire nation embrace transformation?

Just a few weeks ago, my team and I had an amazing opportunity to be part of a transformational movement with the goal of impacting an entire country. On August 31 and September 1, we traveled to Paraguay to launch an initiative that has been on my heart for a long time.

The idea of transformation has really spoken to me for a few years now. I’ve spent a long time thinking on it and trying to understand what it would mean to me personally as well as to the people I lead and teach. What would happen if individuals were equipped to become people of significance and began making a positive difference in the world around them? Could it transform their families? Their communities? Even an entire nation?

Opportunities to explore transformation have begun coming my way. First, I was able to write my upcoming book, Intentional Living. My most personal book yet, it was written with the goal of helping people transform their lives so that they can make a difference in their world.

Second, my team and I have been invited by the top leaders in different nations, to teach leadership values to their people. We started in Guatemala in 2013. More than one hundred members of the John Maxwell Team of coaches volunteered to travel there to train leaders in conducting roundtables (small group studies) on leadership values. Now, over 170,000 people have been trained and transformed, and we believe that this will lead to national transformation.

This year, we accepted the invitation to the country of Paraguay, in South America. And on August 31 and September 1, through  the nonprofit John Maxwell Leadership Foundation, I had the honor of meeting with key leaders, ranging from the country’s president and other government officials to educators and members of the media, to an arena full of youth who are the hope of their country’s future. During those meetings, I taught about several ways everyone could work together to begin the transformation of their people in a way that would lift the entire nation to a new level.

The people’s response was incredible. In the different sessions where I spoke, I could sense – even with the language barrier – an excitement about this goal of national transformation. People there are ready to grow and become better as individuals and as leaders. Their motto, “Transformation Is Within Me,” just shows their passion for a change that begins within, then spreads to others.

I’m so excited about what I saw and experienced in Paraguay, and what is to come for them. The people of that nation are passionate and eager to grow. This coming February, I’ll travel back, this time with hundreds of my coaches, to launch roundtables on leadership values, intentional living, and transformation. We believe that the passion of the people, along with the training opportunities we provide, will just add fuel to the transformation movement that I’ve already witnessed.

Thank you to the people of Paraguay, for your hospitality and enthusiasm for growth. Because of your passion, you will be able to make a difference in your families, your communities, and your country. I am grateful that you invited me to be a part of it.