Investing in Your Leadership Legacy
This week on The John Maxwell Leadership Podcast we wrapped up a month of lessons that my father, Melvin, taught me. Dad went home to Jesus on July 4, and we’ve spent the past few weeks sharing the 29 lessons he taught me with his life and his wisdom.
But during this week’s episode, Mark Cole opens up his discussion by mentioning my book, Developing the Leader Within You 2.0—it’s the first book of mine that Mark ever read, and he credits the book for affirming his calling to leadership. Mark and I have spoken often of the book’s impact on him personally and professionally, and how the lessons he learned decades ago still impact him today.
That’s the thing about leadership. It’s an investment that continually pays dividends.
I can say that because of the legacy my father left me. My dad was my very first leader, my very first mentor, and my very best friend. I watched him continually develop himself as a leader through reading books, growing in his strengths, serving others, and living an intentional life. He marked me with his leadership, just as he marked thousands of others through his ministry.
Whether it was students from Circleville Bible College (now known as Ohio Christian University) or his fellow residents at the retirement home where he served as their Chaplin, my father’s decades of investment into his leadership paid dividends to the people around him.
I can say that with all confidence because those dividends are still being paid today. The leadership lessons my father lived and shared with me are a foundational part of my work and calling. I pass on to leaders what was first handed down to me, and like my father I continue to develop myself so that I can continue to develop others.
As a leader, you can never stop investing in your own growth. There will never come a day when you know enough, have experienced enough, or have seen enough to get you through the challenges every leader faces. My father was 98 years old when he died; I’m now 73; but no matter what age you may be, my friend, you can always be better tomorrow than you were today.
That’s why I’m still passionate about helping leaders like you invest in yourself. This week my team has created a special offer for leaders to double-down on their personal growth investment: they’re offering a Developing the Leader Within You package that includes both the book and the digital course for a significant discount.
If nothing else, it’s an opportunity for you to decide which is better—the book or the movie?
Kidding aside, I’m grateful to my team for making this offer available to you. Growth as a leader is essential for a life of significance. I cannot overstate how true that sentence is in our current culture. We are desperate for women and men of values who value people and want to add value to people daily. Our world is changing and that change calls out for leaders of integrity who will help guide that change in ways that will benefit everyone, not merely a chosen few.
We need leaders like you investing in yourself, and when you do, you become more than just a better leader. You become part of my family’s legacy.
What my dad passed on to me, I’ve passed on to Mark and to leaders like yourself. We are all connected now by the thread of leadership, weaving a tapestry of a brighter, more brilliant future than any of us could ever dream. I am grateful for you being part of this legacy. I know my father was too, even though he may have never met you. Dad always understood that our influence went far beyond just our presence.
My friend, today is the perfect day to begin investing in yourself as a leader. It’s the perfect day to rekindle an investment in yourself that you allowed to go dormant. It’s the perfect day to continue investing in yourself and in those you lead.
You will never be sorry that you did. I promise.
Thank you John Great information
Thank you sir, I thought it was quite uplifting and inspiring indeed.
Sir, it is a privileges to met you in books website .infact you a leader with an open heart God bless you
Good meeting John,and its transforming my old way of doing things. Want to attend your leadership program in US come March 2021
Thank you sir . I want to appreciate you so much for the love you had for your father. To have mastered so many lessons from a dad, means a lot and should be well celebrated. We are privileged to receive these same lessons from the son. I want to congratulate you.
It is also a lesson for some of us, to think about that lessons we also received but were taken for granted especially from those parents who died long time ago . Hope to attend the August 2021 event by God’s grace I will meet John Maxwell.
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That’s very excellent to read a motivation story thank you John Maxwell I really wish and love to change my life to tell you the truth most of the time I do even sleep at night because of my version and dreams that I have I wanna achieve my goals and to be a Successful Business man it will be my reality
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Sir, it’s a privileges to meet with you, infant you are a leader with an open heart God bless you
John’s main theme in this article about investing in one’s leadership abilities, is one that needs to be taught more often. The article mentions that some leaders, in any setting, can sometimes feel as if they have “made it”. I am not sure when that point is reached or even how, but the internalized reality for those leaders is that they have no more left to learn or face because they have learned and faced it all. The concept alone seems laughable since no person can be prepared for every situation! However, those that continually sharpen their leadership skills will never feel as if they have nothing left to learn because they are seeking out learning opportunities.
The process of investing in one’s leadership abilities can be seen in scripture as well. Philippians 2:3 shows how a leader’s work is never done because, “each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” This verse illustrates the idea of investing in one’s own ability to lead because it will help serve other people with their problems. If someone is only worried about their own wellbeing, it is easy to get into the “made it” mindset of leadership, thinking that there is nothing left to learn. 1 Timothy 4:8 states, “For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” We are called as followers of Jesus to always be training and working to be more godly in the world and that work is never done! There are always areas that we can offer up to the Lord to improve upon and be more God-honoring. In this way, wea re investing in our leadership because we recognize the need for continual wisdom and knowledge from God to do His will in order to look to the interests of others and train in the area of godliness.