SUCCESS 101 by John C. Maxwell

• Most people run out of day long before their to-do list is done.
• You cannot achieve what you have not defined.
• The problem for most people who want to be successful is not that they can’t achieve success. The main obstacle for them is that they misunderstand success.
• What does it take to be a success? Two things are required: the right picture of success and the right principles for getting there.
• Nothing can take the place of knowing your purpose.
• The only true measure of success is the ratio between what we might have been and what we have become. In other words, success comes as the result of growing to our potential.
• We have nearly limitless potential, yet too few ever try to reach it. Why? The answer lies in this: We can do anything, but we can’t do everything.
• Concentrate on One Main Goal.
• Reaching your potential requires focus. That’s why it’s so important for you to discover your purpose.
• There can be no success without sacrifice. The two go hand in hand. If you desire to accomplish little, sacrifice little. But if you want to accomplish great things, be willing to sacrifice much.
• Concentrate on Continual Improvement.
• Commitment to continual improvement is the key to reaching your potential and to being successful.
• Forget the Past.
• No matter what you’ve faced in the past, you have the potential to overcome it.
• Focus on the Future.
• Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It’s what you do for others.”
• You will never go farther than your dreams take you.
• History is filled with men and women who faced adversity and achieved success in spite of it.
• You will not succeed unless you are willing to fail.
• If you can change your perspective on failure, it will help you to persevere—and ultimately achieve your desires.
• PEOPLE THINK FAILURE IS AVOIDABLE . . . IT’S NOT
• Failure is like success. It’s not someplace you arrive. Just as success is not a single event, neither is failure. Success or failure comes from how you deal with life along the way.
• Remember, mistakes don’t define failure. They are merely the price of achievement on the journey toward success.
• The first step toward success is leading yourself exceptionally well.
• It’s one thing to decide to exercise. It’s another to actually follow through with it.
• Leaders and other successful people know when to display emotions and when to delay them.
• You should ask yourself, What does the team need? not, What will make me feel better?
• Most people are generalists. They know a lot about a lot of things. However, most successful individuals are highly focused.
• You must be ruthless in your judgment of what you should not do. Just because you like doing something doesn’t mean it should stay on your to-do list.
• A minute of thinking is often more valuable than an hour of talk or unplanned work.
• Successful people value action.
• If you want to influence others, you must always lead yourself first. If you can’t, you have no credibility.
• It is no exaggeration to say that the ability to work with people is the most important ingredient for success.
• People skills are invaluable. It doesn’t matter what you want to do. If you can win with people, you can win!
• The greater the talent and resources a person possesses, the greater his potential to become a multiplier.
• The little things you do every day have a greater impact on others than you might think.
• Trust is the foundation of all relationships.
• How a person deals with the circumstances of life tells you many things about his character. Crisis doesn’t necessarily make character, but it certainly does reveal it.
• True leadership always involves other people.
• Unaddressed cracks in character only get deeper and more destructive with time.
• A leader not only stays above the line between right and wrong, he stays well clear of the ‘gray areas.’”
• To hit the mark, aim above it.
• Performing at a high level of excellence is always a choice, an act of the will.
• Highly competent people always go the extra mile. For them, good enough is never good enough.
• Highly competent people do more than perform at a high level. They inspire and motivate other people to do the same.
• If you’re not performing at a consistently high level, reexamine your standards.
• Nobody keeps improving without being intentional about it.
• You’re only as good as your private standards.
• Quitters never win and winners never quit.
• Even people who lack talent and fail to cultivate some of the other vital qualities of a team player have a chance to contribute to the team and help it succeed if they possess a tenacious spirit.
• Tenacious people don’t rely on luck, fate, or destiny for their success. And when conditions become difficult, they keep working. They know that trying times are no time to quit trying. And that’s what makes the difference.
• The day you stop growing is the beginning of the end of your success.
• Successful people face the danger of contentment with the status quo.
• Your growth determines who you are. Who you are determines who you attract. Who you attract determines the success of your organization.
• Effective people know that what got them there doesn’t keep them there.
• Teachability requires us to admit we don’t know everything, and that can make us look bad.
• Go out of your way today to do something different that will stretch you mentally, emotionally, or physically. Challenges change us for the better. If you really want to start growing, make new challenges part of your daily activities.
• Continuing to learn in an area where you are already an expert prevents you from becoming jaded and unteachable.
• Successful people do the things that unsuccessful people are unwilling to do.
• SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE TAKE THE TOUGH JOBS
• The ability to accomplish difficult tasks earns others’ respect very quickly.
• The key is being willing to do something because it matters, not because it will get you noticed.
• If you want to be successful, you must distinguish yourself from your colleagues.
• SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE ADMIT FAULTS BUT NEVER MAKE EXCUSES
• It’s easier to move from failure to success than from excuses to success. And you will have greater credibility with your leader if you admit your shortcomings and refrain from making excuses.
• A good time to make mistakes and learn is before you are recognized by others as successful. That’s when you want to discover your identity and work things out.
• SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE PERFORM TASKS THAT ARE “NOT THEIR JOB”
• Few things are more frustrating for a leader than having someone refuse to do a task because it is “not his job.”
• A successful person’s goal is to get the job done, to fulfill the vision of the organization and its leader. That often means doing whatever it takes.
• Successful people become go-to players.
• Being a heavy load lifter is really an attitude issue, not a position issue. If you have the willingness and capacity to lift the load of your leaders when they need it, you will have influence with them.
• The greatest opportunity for a leader in the middle of an organization to distinguish himself is when the leader is absent. It is at those times that a leadership vacuum exists, and leaders can rise up to fill it.
• To reach the next level, lead others to success.
• Growing organizations are always looking for good people to step up to the next level and lead.
• The key to moving up as an emerging leader is to focus on being successful where you are and leading well on that level, not on moving up the ladder.
• No matter what level you’re working on, leadership skills are needed at that level.
• The small responsibilities you have before you now comprise the first great leadership conquest you must make. Don’t try to conquer the world until you’ve taken care of things in your own backyard.
• Every day that you lead and succeed, you are building a résumé for your next job.
• If you want to test your own leadership, then try leading volunteers. Why is that so difficult? Because with volunteers, you have no leverage. It takes every bit of leadership skill you have to get people who don’t have to do anything to do what you ask.
• Taking action—and helping others to do the same in a coordinated effort—is the essence of leadership.
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