Leading Edge: John Maxwell’s Speaking – The Impact on me
Leading Edge: John Maxwell’s Speaking – The Impact on me
A Simple Idea That Made a Huge Impact
I am in a large hotel conference room with a few hundred brand new members of The John Maxwell Team. We have the opportunity to ask the number one leadership expert in the world questions and be mentored by him for about two hours.
I was familiar with John and had heard him speak many times, but on this day something he said impacted me in a way that has resonated with me ever since. I have shared this idea with many people to encourage and hopefully inspire them. The concept is simple yet powerfully true.
As he was on the stage, John had one arm pointing up toward the ceiling at a forty-five degree angle. With his arm extended he said: “we all have uphill goals.”
Ok, this part wasn’t amazingly profound and inspiring, but is very true. I have goals that seem impossible and feel like a huge uphill climb, but then there was the other part of his thought.
John took his other arm and pointed toward the floor at a forty-five degree angle and then said: “we have downhill habits.”
Wow.
The Moment
In that moment, I knew this was a powerful idea and quickly wrote it down, but I was not certain I knew why it was so impactful for me. As I reflect back I realize more why this impacted me.
I have a desire to help individuals grow into more effective and focused leaders in the marketplace, community, and at home which will transform lives. This is a very uphill goal because transformation takes time and both my personality and our culture do not encourage taking time. In order to help transform other lives I must allow my life to be transformed and that is where I need to develop the right habits. If my life is not being transformed how can I expect to have credibility in leading others toward transformation?
Another time I heard John share his five daily habits that have been a part of his success. After hearing that concept I realized if I want to transform lives I need to develop habits that will help me get to that goal. I already had some habits that help me in my thinking and focus, but I continue to develop and tweak habits that each day help me expand my ability to influence others and move closer toward achieving my goals.
Daily I continue to pursue the vision of serving individuals and organizations to grow leaders that will transform lives and I engage in habits like reading, writing, thinking, listening, and taking small action steps. While I continually implement these habits, I will climb the mountain toward making a real transformational difference in this world.
What About You?
What about you? What is your uphill dream or goal? What habits do you have that will help you climb that mountain or habits that you need to eliminate so they do not pull you down? Keep climbing and keep leading.
BIO:
Throughout his professional career Randy has helped individuals and teams work toward reaching their goals and developing as leaders where they are. He is an Independent Executive Director of The John Maxwell Team and has a Masters in Organizational Leadership which he uses to help individuals develop their personal and professional leadership skills in a way that will increase their impact among their colleagues, friends, and family. He lives in Fishers, Indiana with his wife and three sons.
You can contact Randy and learn more about his business at https://www.wheelercoachingsystems.com/contact-us/ or www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/randywheeler.