You’ve never heard of John Maxwell?!”
“Mom, you, of all people, have never heard of John Maxwell, are you serious?” My 20-year-old daughter had just quoted him and was incredulous to my question. “No, I haven’t,” I said, “who is he?”
So began my journey. And, in retrospect, it’s unbelievable I had never heard of John Maxwell. I’ve been devouring personal growth and professional development material since I was 17. I’ve read classics and little known books, the usual suspects and emerging authors.
I was so in to personal development, my two little daughters didn’t get Snow White bedtime stories, they got me reading out loud, chapter after chapter from many of the personal growth classics. I’ve attended workshops and seminars and full on credentialed programs. Never heard of the guy. Weird, huh?
I believe the old saying is true, “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.”
I was ready. When I was introduced to John’s material, I was stunned. It hit me right between the eyes and left my mouth agape. How had I not run into this massive body of work, not even once?!
John’s nuggets of simple wisdom, “People won’t go along with you if they can’t get along with you,” are profound. His work resonated deeply with me and I dove, head first, into a structured program of learning and growth.
The idea that “Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn,” with its deep and meaningful messages of learning through loss; healing through humility and motivation through hope all leading the individual to personal growth and change through maturity is fantastic. Surely destined to become a classic.
But, more important – is John’s desire to leave a legacy of added value, of helping people by compounding the massive works through training an army of sorts in the John Maxwell Team. I joined immediately. I’ve been thrilled with my decision.
I immersed myself in the leadership crockpot. I simmered and allowed the time for the profound ideas to permeate my mind and my being. I internalized the lessons and began to talk about what I was learning with others. It was magnetic. It was attractive. I realized I could step out of the crockpot and feed others – who were as hungry as I was for meaningful, valuable, actionable content they could make their own.
When I began to reach out, I didn’t seek people I thought “needed” leadership training. I sought people I thought would benefit from it and find the value in the learning. My response rate for one group was so large, I had to split it into two groups. That wasn’t enough, and I had to split that into a third group to accommodate the demand.
Because I own a chain of restaurants, I often think in terms of food and beverages. I found my participants aren’t just hungry, they are starving for this knowledge. They are so thirsty, they can’t drink fast enough. I am serving them appetizers – a few laws at a time, full course meals in the form of comprehensive coaching and desserts as conference calls and master mind groups and they aren’t stuffed, they’re asking for more. They’re thankful and eager for the buffet.
It’s incredibly gratifying to learn, to share, to grow and show, to serve in this way. It’s a beautiful thing to see people come in nervous and afraid and uncertain – and see them leave encouraged and uplifted, confident and eager. John’s team helps lead people to a structured path of personal growth and development.
I’m a member of that team. It’s my incredible opportunity in life to serve others, to be a messenger of hope, delivering simple yet profound knowledge that changes lives.
Oh, and those two now grown daughters who fell asleep listening to personal growth and development material? They’re in my 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Master Mind Group. They’ll be joining John’s team soon too.
About the Author
Misty Young is a Featured writer for the John Maxwell Blog.
She is the co-owner and Board Chair of the Squeeze In restaurant franchise company.
As a certified member of the John Maxwell Team, Misty helps develop leaders as a coach, speaker and trainer. Misty has been married to Gary Young since 1979 and has two grown daughters, two sons in law and three grandchildren.
Contact Misty at http://www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/mistyyoung/
Thank you Misty for the wonderful blog! Yes, it IS amazing that some don’t know about John Maxwell, isn’t it? I was like you, steeped in the Motivational and personal development materials, and yet, hadn’t heard of John. When I found out he was certifying coaches, I jumped in, head first!!
You’re such a fantastic role model for your daughters and for me! Thank you again,
Chandler Peterson
Great post Misty! I love the way you’ve merged the need for food with the need for knowledge. Great analogy! Thanks for serving with this post.
Wow, Misty! I hope you have written a book! You are a great writer and I loved your blog.
I, too, am always amazed when someone hasn’t heard of John Maxwell! I usually reply that if you look up the word Leadership in the dictionary, the definition is John Maxwell!
I read 21 Laws back in 1997 and it became by leadership bible. I had ended up in Leadership by accident, not choice, and John’s books gave me the confidence to be a leader! Fast forward, I met Paul Martinelli in 2010!
Thanks again for your wonderful post.
Misty that was an amazing post; if that is an appetizer, I can’t begin to think how super awesome the main course will be. Thank you for your inspiration.
What a great first post! I look forward to all the ones to come. What you say is so true, “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” I, too, had never heard of John until you introduced me to him and his “21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.” What an amazing and enlightening find. Very grateful.
Chandler, thank you for your kind comments! I love that you, too, hadn’t heard of John, I have been feeling really lame about that. I couldn’t wait to become a certified coach, my clients are thrilled with the coaching process. The power is in the process!
Thank you again, Chandler, I appreciate your thoughtful comments.
Misty
Charmaine, I love to serve! Serve food, serve words, serve people! As a restaurant owner, it made sense for me to make that connection. Thank you again!
Misty
Thank you Mary! I wrote and published a book that’s become a best seller this year! The book is called “From Rags To Restaurants: The Secret Recipe” and it’s available on amazon.
I’ve been immersing in John’s material and feel so blessed to have found it and his teachings. Feel like I’ve connected with a winner! You know who’s another winner? Bob Burg! Have you read his new book Adversaries Into Allies? It’s awesome. And Paul Martinelli? Yeah. It’s good to be connected with people of this caliber!
Thank you again for your kind comments, you made me feel great!
Misty
Thank you so much Maria! What I’ve learned is that leadership is a daily activity, that if I want to grow, I have to actually put it on my calendar, which I do.
I appreciate your nice words, thank you!
Misty
Oh, Barbara, I had no idea! That’s wonderful to be the bringer and making the connection between you and this wisdom. I was shocked when I found John’s work and lengthy history and that I hadn’t even bumped into anything?!
I’m so glad you’re finding value in “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.” Me too. I love how all the chapters, each law, compounds and builds on what came before it. It’s fantastic!
Thank you again,
Misty
Great article. Truly inspirational. I have gleaned some very important principles from this shared experience. Thank you.