This Saturday, I will turn 74 years old.
Like most birthdays when you get older, I’ll celebrate in
some way with my family and friends, but for the most part I’ll treat it like
most other days: focused on the mission of transformation. But that doesn’t
mean I won’t reflect on my life and what I’ve been blessed to accomplish over
its course. I’ll spend a lot of time thinking about the
lessons I’ve learned in seven decades.
Of course, I’ve been doing that for a while now.
Seventy years is a long time—and that means there
are plenty of lessons to learn, from both the good and the bad. I try
to pass along lessons as soon as I learn them; it helps me not only pass the
lesson along but cement it in my mind and heart. One of the biggest benefits of
teaching others is the ability to really discover where your convictions lay.
You’ve probably heard me say that as I get older, I’m
certain about fewer things—but the things of which I am certain, I’m more
certain of than I’ve ever been in my life. My convictions about the things
I deeply, truly believe have only gotten stronger. I’ve reached the age where I’m
not bothered if someone disagrees with me or my convictions; I’m confident of
what I believe, in part because I regularly test and review it!
For example, I am certain that Transformation is not only
with our grasp, but also a goal I’ll see achieved in my lifetime. For
years, my sense of Transformation’s importance has increased; what began as a
vague notion has become a refined, thorough, and tested process for seeing real
lives and communities changed through learning and living out good values.
I can go back to my book, Intentional Living, and see
how the message of Transformation was in its early stages. I can trace how my
thinking and understanding of the message of Transformation began there, with the
emphasis on being intentional with your life and choosing to make a difference.
That message has solidified over the years and now serves as a foundation of the
process Rob Hoskins and I describe in Change Your World.
I’m also certain that personal growth is essential for
every leader—and really, for every person. Of all the investments I’ve made
in my life, none has paid off for me like the personal growth kit I purchased
from Curt Kampmeier for $795. It was a significant investment for me and Margaret
at the time—essentially one entire month’s salary for me—so it took six months
and a lot of sacrifices on Margaret’s part for us to save enough to purchase
the kit.
But once we did…it was the unlocking of my most significant
discipline as a leader. Daily growth is now more than a habit; it’s the essence
of what I do! It’s how I discover new ideas, challenge old mindsets, and add value
to the countless men and women around the world who trust me to provide wisdom
on leadership and life.
And that leads to one more certainty I have: that reproducing
leaders is essential for success, significance, and ultimately Transformation.
No one changes the world alone; one is too small a number to achieve greatness,
which means leaders must produce other leaders to help carry the message and the
load. Producing leaders isn’t something you leave to chance, either. It’s an
intentional investment on the part of a leader to pour themselves into other people.
Ten years ago, I was presented an idea that sounded radical
at the time and proved to be one of the smartest things I’ve ever done. I was pitched
the idea of a coaching company that would train and certify leaders in the principles
and practices I’ve developed over my career. These certified men and women
would then be allowed to go into their communities and teach courses and lead
trainings based on select material from my catalog.
It would be called The John Maxwell Team.
Today, the John Maxwell Team stands at over 35,000 certified
coaches, speakers, and trainers, many of whom have become trusted leaders in
their communities. These men and women not only have my content, but they have
my heart, and they are the legs to my legacy. Our global movement of
Transformation would not happen were it not for the leaders we’ve reproduced
through the JMT.
These lessons help form the heart of who I am today.
They influence and drive the man I want to be tomorrow. And they are essential
for helping our work in training men and women to become the people they were
meant to be.
I want you to be one of these men and women. I want to help
you unlock the life you were born to lead, a life of purpose and meaning and
Transformation. That’s why, for my birthday, I want to offer you a gift—the gift
of growth.
My team has put together a digital course that holds an
essential lesson from each of my seven best-selling courses, called 7
Principles for Building a Life That Makes a Difference. These aren’t
just chosen at random, mind you; each of these lessons was essential for my
personal growth journey, and I believe they will help you with yours.
My friend, you can accept your life, or you can lead
your life but remember you only get one life—and it’s up to you what
that life becomes.
I hope that when you reach my age, you’ll be able to look
back, as I have, and say that you’ve chosen to make it your best life.
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