At 71 years old, I don’t need many gifts at Christmas. I have a good home, a good family, a good team, and my life has never been more fulfilling than it is right now. The opportunities I’m seeing for partnerships and transformation are greater now than at any other time in my life. Now,…

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year, right? That time of year when people are busier than ever preparing for family visits, fighting crowds at the mall, wrapping presents, finishing projects, and setting goals, all while trying to bake fruitcakes for neighbors. Our lives are busy with so much still to be done. And…

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In 1986, when I was 39 years old, I began to notice a terrible trend among my colleagues, college buddies and friends: divorce. This was happening in a variety of marriages – from the shaky to the apparently strong. Margaret and I didn’t think our relationship was in any kind of danger, but then again,…

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Here’s an important announcement: There is no such thing as time management. Think about it; the term is an oxymoron. Time cannot be managed. It cannot be controlled in any way. Everyone gets the same number of hours and minutes every day. Nobody—no matter how shrewd—can save minutes from one day to spend on another.…

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To respect someone means to consider that person worthy of high regard or esteem. For a leader, respect is an absolutely crucial component of influence. Leading without respect is a little like trying to run in knee-deep mud…you tire quickly and go nowhere. Like most people, you have probably observed a boss or supervisor whose…

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You have a decision to make. But you just aren’t sure about it. So you put it off. Sometimes that’s a wise move, because the timing isn’t right. In my book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, I teach the Law of Timing, which says, “When to lead is as important as what to do…

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Influence doesn’t come to us instantaneously; it increases gradually. Nor does influence develop by accident. Instead, it grows as we purposefully take action to earn the trust and win the respect of others. In this post, I outline five actions essential for anyone aspiring to gain influence in their family, community, or workplace. 1) An…

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A lot of people come to me confounded by their inability to drive positive outcomes in their organization. They have brilliant plans and excellent practices for leading their teams, and yet they are not experiencing success. How can these leaders be doing the right things but still be getting the wrong results? The reason is…

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Priorities: we all have them, but it’s difficult to determine which should come first. For many years, John Maxwell has used two guidelines to measure his activity and determine his priorities. One of these is the Pareto Principle. This principle, also known as the 80-20 rule, states that 20 percent of your activities will account…

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