The surest index of your spiritual and emotional well-being is the degree of gratitude in your life. Where does gratitude come from, and how can we grow in gratefulness? Grateful people linger over life’s blessings The English word “thank” shares the same root as “think.” Thankfulness is intimately connected to thoughtfulness. We can’t be grateful…

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This week, John and I were at the SUCCESS Partners CEO Summit in Laguna Beach, California. John was discussing his new book, Good Leaders Ask Great Questions. What a great book for leaders desiring to increase their influence! After sharing for 45 minutes, he went into a Q & A session. Some of my favorite…

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In 2007, The Bucket List starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman popularized the idea of writing down your life dreams—things you aspire to do before you “kick the bucket”—and finding a way to make them happen. This lesson introduces a different sort of “bucket list,” one that’s intended to help you gain wisdom rather than…

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People rarely do things for your reasons. They are motivated by their own hopes, aims, and aspirations. A leader’s goal is not to sell her vision to the team, expecting them to buy into something external to them. Rather, the responsibility of the leader is to show how her vision connects with the needs and…

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Early in my career I didn’t ask many questions. I mistakenly believed that as a leader I should know the answers to everyone else’s questions. As a result, I adopted the ridiculous attitude of “fake it ’til you make it.” Unfortunately, that caused me to do a lot of faking but very little making. The…

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When I first began teaching leadership, I spent nearly all my time giving lectures. Today, at almost every speaking gig, people want time to ask me questions about leadership, which I welcome. Not only do I enjoy sharing what I’ve learned, but answering questions also gives me an opportunity to speak from my heart. As…

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Awhile back, I was doing a question and answer session for members of my John Maxwell Team of certified coaches. And I got a great question from a gentleman named Billy. He asked a question that’s becoming more and more common: How do you gather and lead a leadership team? A generation ago, people asked…

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A busload of lawyers careened off a mountain road and tumbled over a cliff. The bus was destroyed and there were no survivors. Tragically, the bus was only half full. Though there are a number of wonderful attorneys, as the joke above indicates, members of the legal profession are often subjected to a negative stereotype.…

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