"Most people don't LEAD their life, they ACCEPT their life!" | Ed Mylett & John Maxwell

if you really want to be transformed you have to live an intentional life this is so simple I don't want you to miss it most people don't lead their life they accept their life and when you accept your life you are living on things that are not worthy of your time and now that's a powerful piece leader understands transformation they go to a whole new level of their leadership again now now people aren't just following you because you're going to help them be successful they're following you because their life is filled gosh and welcome back to max outt everybody today is it's a real honor for me a friend but one of my true heroes in my life sitting to my side it's a real honor for me dad thanks for letting me be a part of this Thank You Jon so much you there's one of the few entries I've even been a little bit nervous for so hey listen you're just dealing with an old man they're all there we're just gonna talk about life and enjoy ourselves this old man has sold 30 million books in his life plus because I'm old [Applause] [Laughter] you also can't sell 30 million books unless they're great and so be so 30 million books everybody this is somebody who's trained leaders on is every country every country every country in the world he's won numerous awards he's he is known as the expert on leadership in the business world there's multiple publications that have named him as such and he's got a new book coming out called leader shift that we're gonna talk about today as well but I just cannot tell you what a thrill it is for me to have you here today John so thank you thank you and it's my honor thank you and what a great joint it for us to talk and enjoy each other and talk about leadership and all the stuff that we love and antibodies people and have so many people join us and our goal obviously is that value to you so hang with us and hopefully we'll give you some good nuggets and principles that can really help you be a better person and better leader and add value to others no question we're gonna do that do you mind because I I've followed you people ask me all the time obviously in my space you know what books to read and I could tell you I have people I recommend first their scriptures second book I always recommend everybody is Napoleon Hill Think and Grow Rich thing grow edge and then I say anything by John Maxwell and that's honestly my answer if you go to any much social media post it's just that's an absolute focus at 8080 so many books I don't know it's so much of a minute but again you can't write that many books unless you're old unless you understand it so it all gets it it's tied in with old but there's this thing of publishers where they don't want you to keep writing them unless they so um yeah they're really good it's not you so you're pretty good at that so but I always recommend you and I've your books have shaped my philosophies about leadership they validated things I hoped were true about being a leader and I've just learned so much from you so I know everybody's gonna do that today but I want to look about you because I don't know the whole background so obviously you were a pastor of a church prior to getting into this space skyline Church yes in San Diego California this particular church we're talking by the way before the interview three pastors in 70 years is that not incredible yes great Church and I followed I was the second when I followed the founding pastor and loved it and and look because I love to help people yeah but I was with my publisher at a meeting and they said something to just change my life they said John we've been looking at the people who buy your books and and two-thirds of your books are bought by the business community and and I was totally shocked at I honestly had no clue because I was really as a pastor kind of writing more to the church community and the religious community and and I said you're kidding me they said no they said you become very popular in the business community because your leadership principles cross right over and so the businesspeople are going in there and they're grabbing your books to get the principles out so they can lead better and and literally but I'm a person of faith yeah so at that moment Edie I really felt God just say to me and this is where you're gonna spend the rest of your life in the business community and and so I I'm a literally that day made preparations to resign my congregation we are in a major building program so it took me a couple years to do it correctly and make sure that that they would have success after I left but but literally that was the day that kind of changed me and had me I went over to this entirely new area that's in sync so so as a calling on your heart right definitely and it's there are people that are listening to this cuz I get messages from them all the time that are in something similar meaning they're they're in a career that maybe was there for dream yeah I mean like this was their dream they thought that's what they wanted to do they've gone down the road to a certain extent but they're feeling this tug on their heart to maybe chase there their passion or their mission what would you say to those people they had to be a difficult decision at all these people relying on you of course well first of all if you're very successful whatever you leave you're leaving something is very successful and what I found a long time ago it's very easy to leave something that's bad but when it comes to something successful you know people say wow do you mean I've got to give this up I mean this is really good form this is this is really working in fact I tell people all the time they need to do it autopsy on success because because the greatest detriment of tomorrow's success is today's success mmm because I the tendency is for me when I'm successful Edie to hold on to it okay okay let's not change anything we've got the form you know we got it down I'm making some good money we're helping some people so let's let's you know this kind of box it and kind of set it apart and let's keep it just as it is and of course that's a disaster in fact that's one of the reasons why I wrote the book leadership's is because I I wanted to help I wanted to help people understand that that there's no such thing as leading people the same way forever that you have to keep learning and growing and and and shifting and making those shifts in your life but for me when I made this transition into the into the business world what I discovered was as you were talking a moment ago the you know you feel the tug on your heart they're kind of like wow I started here and now I'm over here here's what I believe I believe that as you follow your dream it begins it gets bigger and when it gets bigger there are there are more things that you're learning about it that you didn't know when you started this in the beginning the dream is just you know it's just very little and you can kind of see it so you go that way but then it begins then it begins to expand yes and and for me it's a calling and let me just say this I'm not trying to be over spiritual but somebody asked me the day what a calling was and I like kind of my new definition for call okay in fact in my in my book leadership's I one of my chapters is shifting from career to calling and how you know how you know perfectly and how do i how do I make that but I think I think a calling is a is a purpose with the divine touch oh that's wonderful but it's it's it's you've got this purpose but there's a difference thing and that there's a higher touch yeah I was doing an interview on weekend our John Maxwell company we have a simulcast called l2l that goes out to hundreds of sites and Tyler Perry and I were doing an interview together and he wrote a book and I loved the titles book and that is higher is waiting and I love it and and I think that a calling is is you've got this purpose but all of a sudden higher is waiting there's a divine touch on it until all of a sudden you say okay that's this is more than just my purpose this is our purpose our purpose God's purpose and my purpose together and you talk about to talk about a partnership that's a good partner at the ultimate partner that's the ultimate I love that CRT okay I'm done all right that's not did you grow up I'm just curious we're there's navigate in and out of different topics did you grow up in your faith is that something you were raised with in your yeah yeah my father was a pastor so yeah I grew up at a beautiful home I've had my father still alive he'll be it just in fact a couple days will be 97 and and that bodes well for you and but I was very fortunate you know and when it comes to parents I won the lottery I just you know many people you know we don't choose our parents but my parents my mother unconditionally loved me mm-hm and my father had us and it still has this incredible drive and entrepreneurship and this this kind of largeness about him that constantly expands his world so as his world was expanding we were growing up in it and my world expanded and so I grew up in a leadership culture sure I didn't even know what it was as a kid but with your environment yeah it was just this what is this what is today and I and as we shift a little bit but it is interesting to me because I have people all the time telling me that there's these things that hold them back from chasing that calling you've described and I think one of them is I mean maybe I'm wrong about that but you grew up in in a church your dad was a pastor you become one I'm sure the family was very proud of that right you deceive so much yeah I imagine that adds to the difficulty that that your family was so proud of something you had already been accomplishing I think people all the time say that one of the things that holds them back is well my my family doesn't support what I'm about to go do do you see that too all the time and the night you brought it up I wrote a book Oh No maybe eight ten years ago called put your dream to the test okay and it's just it's just a good solid book and in it the kind of theses that book was that the more valid reasons you have to accomplish a dream the higher the odds are that you will now that's a powerful pieces so I mean that's there's no cotton candy here there's there's no hype stuff here yes and so I basically looked at what are the valid reasons to achieve a dream and there were ten of them okay and and so I I formed it in in in a way of questions but but the first one the first question is is your dream really your dream and that's where we started because it can I tell you something if your dream isn't really your dream ain't go to work and and and I tell people look hey the first dream we have isn't our dream it's a parent's dream my mom and dad when I was seven they thought I was going to be a musician and so I'm taking piano lessons from the sailors over to about thirteen I wasn't any good it wasn't your giftedness it might get they're so proud they go to Mars titles I mean I'm living their dream I'm yeah I'm planning to be I can't play the piano I'm not gifted but it doesn't matter I believe in their dream so what I tell people all the time is we start off our life living someone else's dream probably our parents so what happens is a lot of people as adults they never switch so true and so they're still living someone else's dream and again it's you know it's it like a biblical analogy it's it's King or David before we keep putting on King Saul's army you know it's not it's not fitting they staggered around there well I know a lot of people they're putting on someone else's arm and there just aren't going to achieve because it's not who they are it's not their dream yeah that's by the way everybody listening to just go back about one and a half minutes and listen to that again please because that is so absolutely golden true so so that was a difficult decision for you I assume right it was a difficult decision for me because all I ever knew was pastoring so let's start there yeah it wasn't a difficult decision for me as far as knowing where I was going to go yeah so I think a lot of times we have clarity on where we should go but there's a lot of emotion that holds us pastor and what was holding me back was the fact that this is what I've known this is what I studied for this is what my degrees are at Athiya law and so when I made that transition and I had three very uphill challenging difficult years because I had to I had to take the principles I taught and I had to address them entirely different sure I mean hey I can't go in the business community say now let's turn in our Bible right by the way the worship team if they'll come on right now so now I've got to take now here's what's beautiful the leadership principles that I teach in writing books they are all have a but they all have a biblical foundation yes but I tell anybody I said in case that bothers you you tell me what your leadership principles are and I'll tell you where the scripture because it's the greatest leadership book ever written was the Bible and in fact I have one of the one of my great my most wonderful favorite projects was that they asked me to take the Bible and put my leadership lessons in it and I saw that is it's the it's the Maxwell Leadership Bible saw that and I I have probably 800 lessons in that now yes and so you just read a little scripture here's another lesson that you can apply to your life but the reason I can do that is because all the leadership principles I teach they're all biblically based and they have a foundation for so now I'm going to a new crowd so the principles I got those but now I have to illustrate them different and I have very little business experience so what I did and this is I think this is what would be really hopefully if this will be helpful to you whatever you're making a transition that's kind of out of your out of your strengths owner or certainly a brand new like this was I asked a lot of questions and I listened mmm and so I just sit down people like you that are highly successful in business and I'd say okay let me ask you some questions I'd go and I'd ask you questions how you learned from you gonna take a lot of notes and I'd pull the weights okay now this is how ed did and this is how what ed thinks and well I think I could apply this theory and I spent three years humbling myself and being very teachable and saying I just want to learn I just want to learn because I I knew that I had the leadership principles but principles that are good without application or a connection our principles that aren't going to work for anybody so as a communicator I know that you know so a lobby or they said well I've got this great idea doesn't matter if you can't communicate the great idea it isn't going to it there's isn't going to go anywhere so I knew that now I had to connect I had to communicate and so I'm asking a lot of questions and it took me about three years to get my rhythm but I got it yes and today you know today I love love love the secular business world because it gives me a chance to to add value to them it gives me a chance at times to be salt and light in their lives and yeah it's it's it's it's a really good thing who thinks the guy leaving that shirts ends up becoming the most prolific successful business leadership author of all time it makes it it's pretty incredible he said it's really true though because I think first off that dream starts a certain size and girls the other thing I talked about this as the yesterday somebody I think you'll agree with me on this also the the path to getting there will reveal itself as you go I think oftentimes people think I have to know every single step in order to get to this ultimate vision come on and it doesn't work that way right you have to get it revealed it only works that way in a book yeah right okay because what I tell you see what's this I am responsible edie to move on what I see today mm-hmm there's a whole bunch of people there wanting to hold and not move because they don't see three days five days you know two years out whatever and what I'm saying is it's it's kind of like the lights of a car if I go to the parking lot at night turn on the lights and say oh my gosh I came over I don't see my house well no no no get the card start moving in the direction supposed to move it and guess what you only get about 300 feet of light you don't get seven miles right you don't get a see your house you you've got to utilize the light you got o so that you can get to where you want to go so many people that's so comfortable with that with that light because it's there's it well it's not long enough and what's around the corner and and the whole issue is you don't you know what you don't know what's around the corner do you go around the corner oh gosh that's so good and so you so you have to be very comfortable which I am yet to be very comfortable with traveling not having all the answers so true but can I tell you something the only way you get all the answers is to go all the way through absolutely you don't get all the answers on this side and so if I've got to have it lined up and straight and right and I feel comfortable with it then I'll never be the leader and I really believe this head I believe a lot of leaders fall short because they're unwilling to take what they know now and act on it and so therefore they never get to know what they could know oh my gosh that is an absolute fact that is the that is the number one thing when I'm coaching people is their unwillingness to act now on what they know so that what they could know would be revealed to them absolute that's so wonderful yeah all right you're blowing mine so I would be people will be so upset with me if I have the expert in the world on leadership reform and we don't talk a little bit about that exact specific topic on leadership so so I've talked on it one other time soul is that right Oh give it a shot and see if I mean you'll be okay so I think that first at the beginning place is I think most people don't see themselves as a leader just that in and of itself I think most people don't see themselves that way that it's some mystical role in life what would you say to somebody who says I just don't know that I am a leader or could be a leader well I'd everyone is a leader because leadership is influence that's what it is and that has been that has that definition of leadership has served me so well for so many year it's it's in fact it might to try one irrefutable laws of leadership that there's the law you know the leadership is influence nothing more nothing less so when somebody says they're not a leader I said well let me ask you a question do you influence anybody sure and almost always almost I've had a couple maybe I'm not sure but almost always I said well yeah I mean do you have children okay okay we got your family yeah you know so yes now it may be a little influence it may be 810 people may not be but I looked at them and say okay if you influenced eight or ten people you are a leader see what people think is they've got to have some kind of a title or position to be a leader and so they said well I you know I don't have a leadership position so I'm not leader well you and I both know the position doesn't make you a leader anyway it gives you a chance to practice leadership but doesn't make you leader so what I tell people is this leadership is influence so how do I increase my influence or I guess that's good because if I if I influence ten and and next month I influence twenty wow I've doubled my leadership influence and so how do I do that and it's a very simple answer to increase your influence you have to intentionally add value to people this is where it all begins so Edie let's say that I want to have increased influence with you well my first question isn't boy I hope that it'll follow me the first question is is how can I serve you what what can I do to add value to you so I'm gonna ask you you know how can I serve you what can I do to help you in fact what's interesting before we had this interview I mean we're just cracking yeah but I'm kind of trying to out serving guys it was it was a beautiful thing right because all we were really doing is I'm trying to help you correct and here's what I know if I sincerely add value to you my influence will increase with you that's a fact so well we don't need to make leadership complicated just go out and intentionally add value to people and your influence pool begins to expand and after a while I'm becoming quite a leader so leadership is a title position it's it's all about adding value and and and serving to making a difference in other people's lives in order to do that a lot of people are gonna build an organization build a team they'll be in some sort of an environment like that nobody wins alone seems like in life a fact you tell I was listening to the story you were telling and I'd like you to share it about you know there's the analogy of getting people in the right seats on the bus but you have this wonderful story about when you played basketball yeah about at the end of practice your coach would do something very scrimmaged this is absolutely illustrates this point so because of you might know it's a beautiful point he would he would have the first team the better players five players play the second team and the only thing that he would do is he would put we who were on the first team out of position and he always stuck me I was I was a number two guard but he always stuck me under the basket guarding a guy named Doug Roth it was six foot eight okay and you know and he'd put maybe our Center out there with the point guard well he's put his opposition and they sit out stay in your position and play play 220mm well what would happen is the first team would always lose and he set us back down and say now did you lose because of talent no did you lose then you lost for one reason you were out of position and remember this whenever you're out of position you're gonna lose well what they did is I mean I'm guarding a six foot eight guy they just throw a high pass right he's just dropping that bout but right over me the whole time well you can so it was a great teaching for me that's no matter how gifted you are no matter how committed you are if you're out of position you're not going to be successful that's why everybody needs to find their sweet spot you know what what do I really do well and on that there's a point that I really want to make and that is I tell people if you were gonna be highly successful you've got to get into what I call the top 5% okay so you got a hundred people you've got a hundred people to hear in your in whatever chosen profession got you've got to be in the top five yes you've got to get there and you could only get to the top five if you're in your sweet spot you can't get to the top five working on weaknesses you can't get to the top top five if I'm not in the area of my giftedness so you've got to find out what you're good at because that'll give you if men if you're committed and if you've got a good strategy and all this other they've got a good team around you then that'll allow you to get in that top five and once you're in that top 5% you're in good shape you're going to do very well and I tell matter what your profession is you've got to get into the top five or set in you could only get the top five percent if you're in your position if you're in your sweet spot is there any technique strategy thought you have in order to identify what those those sweet spots are for you oh yeah trial in there I mean I you know when I started okay let's go to my I started off as a pastor and and so and I had a counseling degree so now I'm counseling people well it takes me about six months to realize I'm not a good at that you know I'm not it's not my gift right I mean I they're coming in and I'm listening to them and then I say okay the that's obvious here's your issue here are three things I write off his paper Neil had to UM sit out go be healed you know what I mean and the next month they come back in that said no okay what are we in here for well probably most the problem here the last month you know I'm saying that what did you do the three thing no I didn't do the three things all you good but well it wore me out I wore them out I wasn't he good but but that's what I was trained it hmm but but it wasn't giving me the results and one day I mean it took me really it really took me at three years one day I realized that when you counsel people you work on their weaknesses and when you equip people you work on their strengths and the moment I went from working on weaknesses to working on strengths I became I I was I was a rock star with him with strings because you showed me your strengths and I'm going to give you a game plan let's get going because I'm a natural equip er not a natural counsellor nothing wrong counseling it's just not my gift you with me and and and and what do they teach me in college they taught me how to administrate so I'm in my you know I've got a little country church I'm doing administration where there's no return there I mean my gosh and then one day I wake up and I'm saying wait a minute this isn't working I gotta go get me some volunteers to do this administration so I can get back and so it's trial and error and sometimes I think we go to people like I mean and if I'm trying to find out my strengths and you and I know each other really well I think how much do you say okay talk to him you know what do I do well yes you know sometimes we don't understand our own strengths and it takes somebody that really is a good friend it knows as well that can say well I think you're really good in this area but you got to fight them yeah and the good news is everybody has gifts that's right everybody so there's not saying this person well you know I just Gibson so yes I'm left out everybody has them you just got to go find them but once you find him that's where and by the way that's where you put all of your time in personal growth and development mmm because the goal is it just to learn a lot of things hmm I know how much people they're very knowledgeable but they're not very successful that's right so so what you got to do is you got to say I'm going to stay in in the area of my strings yes and and and so when I at 27 when I decided I was going to speak and maybe write some books I asked myself a very simple question what are the areas that that people need to excel in to be successful and I came up with four areas okay relationships I mean if you can't get along with people hello right equiping if you if you can't develop a team you're you may have personal success but you're not going to have molted you're not going to compound success because you don't have people helping you yeah an attitude of overcoming adversity and difficulty then getting back up not quitting that whole process and leadership the ability to influence people had and at 27 I said those are the four things I'm will spend my life and if you look at my books almost all are more in relationships equipped through attitude leadership it's true and I thought I I found what I call I found the sweet spot for people to success man and I and so I wrote all my books in those areas I've read i'ma tell you something I've read of the majority of your books and there was a window of time where I read every single one as they were coming out and now I'm back in that cycle again with you and for me the last couple minutes were really valuable because I've I'm always I'm obviously acknowledged like you are as a good leader and sure and but in my own mind I've wondered whether I am sometimes because I'm not a great counselor either and I mean that like when people are looking for counsel from being and but what I am I do feel like I'm really good at identifying giftedness in people I see giftedness I think I'm good at equipping people and so leaders come in different shapes sizes and forms that was just really a good validation just for me and I think it would be for certain people listening this because I think also sometimes people that are really good at executing themselves potentially maybe struggle with counseling people how to do things but they're great and equipment it could equiping lutely absolutely and what I found is successful people are really good at finding their gifts getting in their gift zone and then just really stay in there and becoming successful I think they're happier too oh yes but successful leaders there's the difference successful leaders are had the ability of what you just described it of finding the strength sweet spot for other people and getting them in that sweet spot yeah and that's where the return is I spent my life after I discovered what my strengths were now I'm just helping other people find their strengths because there's nothing more empowering to a person than to find out that they are good at something and then being equipped and taught how to how to do it what that's honestly what you just described is what I enjoy doing most of my life that's why you're a leader well I hope very reason on it thank you I'd like someone you know something like the whole interview everything we're doing today that was it valuable for me because I've struggled even myself like why am i that's an element of my ability with people that's just limited I'm not great at counseling people and but I am good at equipping them so it's just a distinction that I really appreciate one of the thing about teams that I want to talk about the new book but one thing I want to talk about on building teams and having teams is I have probably talked about the law of the catalyst oh yeah in in my life in business that you've talked about in various different books yes both both identifying them an organization so that they can grow and also wanting to be identified as one as someone coming through an organization could you just talk about most people listening this are familiar with your work but obviously there are people that aren't as well so what's the what is that law like what is a catalyst in an organization why is it important why do you want to be one well ed that's out of my book the 17 laws of teamwork and basically the that chapter is about the fact that good leaders have the ability to make things happen and so when people look at me and they say okay John I'm looking for maybe a potential leader what's the first thing I look for the first thing I say for them to look for is look for somebody that makes things happen yes because you know there's no bunch of people there wondering what happened so I say go fight go fight because here's what I discovered if you can make things happen for yourself you now have the credibility to make things happen for the people if I'm not successful there is no appeal for you to follow me I I tell people all the time success is the credibility of a leader to lead because you think about it no one ever got you know nobody ever said oh my gosh you know I okay I got it I'm financially in deep weeds oh my gosh I'm gonna I think I'll go kill my buddy Joey he's been bankrupt three times you're right right you don't follow Joe Joe's been bankrupt three times you gotta go find somebody that's successful with money given so he's gonna get it oh my gosh man I'm gonna call jack he's been divorced four time Oh Jack how many is my marriage you see people when they need help the first thing they think about is who is better than me that I can follow and so the credibility of a leader as far as to lead is that they're successful I mean if I'm successful I say hey I'd want to join my team well of course I mean if LeBron James was in the room right now Ron says we're gonna playing a little basketball right and and LeBron says you know I'll pick and then John will pick well when LeBrons there you're got your hand up saying bran pick me cuz you go to win if you get LeBron and every time I'm getting right pick your diving behind the chair yeah you don't want to be on my team you're gonna lose on my team so what I tell people all the time is that the first thing you've got to do is you've got to be you got to get good yourself if you're it why would I ever think that I should lead somebody if I'm not any good at Accenture okay but once I'm good and I found my success now I began to say okay how do I compound this well I compound this by looking at dad and say okay dad let me help you find your sweet spot and let's get you on this same road because now all of a sudden this is how I this is how I really build a team and so the law of the catalyst is all about making things happen and and that's what I look for I mean Jack Welch the his phrase was that you know who's gonna get out of the pile you know he'd say in when General Electric you do there's a big pile of people in this company well who's gonna get out of the pile well well somebody's gonna climb out mark Colin's might the CEO I have six companies and Mark holds the CEO of them and the reason he is is because he got out of the pile he got off he started he started in the stock yes yeah and I just took him out last week but he got on the pile yes in other words he everywhere he was he succeeded yes and everywhere he went he won yes and after while you just sit there and say okay okay I think I'll let him run this thing because he knows how to do it and so for all of us I say before you go lead somebody else just kind of get good yourself so right you're a mutual hero of mine friend of yours that we're talking about off camera art Williams oh how important is leadership right an art wood used to say and still probably does say you want to show me any Church Boy Scout Troop football team company I'm gonna show you something being run by a leader yes and and in every great company the leader should the leaders are great at identifying catalysts I mean when you find them pay them well keep them because they're priceless when you have them somebody I'm sure marks over there nodding his head that you shouldn't have even better so yeah so but I want to I want to say something to you about your books that I think are just there so everybody there's such great reads they're easy to read their memorable he makes points and then backs them up with incredible stories and anecdotes and quotes and so it's the other thing about your books they're incredibly I would say the information is profound unique and deep yet very easy to its but you equip people so well with the way you write it that it's transferable that's right the information is so transferred when you do that better than anybody of anybody's work that I read I enjoy reading every single book the problem with your books oftentimes is when you highlight them you would almost be better off in John's books highlighting the parts that you don't want to go back and remember because he's literally just covered in highlighter when you serious thank you but it's an absolute fact as I always get tired of highlighting it's like every single part of every single page you would seem to bill so I'm a communicator so let's start here you know an educator take something simple and makes it complicated hmm I mean think of all you know I don't think about my college also I mean in an educational world if you're not confused they're not happy so I mean they hey their sentences are a paragraph long I mean by the time I get down to paragraph forgot what the first part I got to go back and read her instead of short sentences you know I'm dealing with a paragraph so but a communicator is exactly opposite they take something complicated and make it simple and so here's when I write a book or when I speak doesn't matter my first objective is to keep it so simple that when I say it it immediately resonates with people in fact anytime you have to explain what you said you didn't say it right the first time hmm so I might my joke is I put the cookies on the lower shelf so everybody can have something and so simple as far as understanding hmm but deep just guess that there's a difference sure it but deep when it comes to profound results that will make in your life it's absolute factory so I mean one of the principles I teach it's very simple I just hold my arm up in the air and I say everything worthwhile is uphill hmm everything everything there's nothing there's nothing in your life worthwhile that's not a pillared so it's all uphill well everybody gets that I mean it's all a pill you know and here's the problem you get uphill hot hopes but we have downhill habits okay got a downhill habit you're not going up hills got to change that habit so everything that I teach I teach with it with the with a real passion to keep it simple but keep it very practical and and and make sure that the principle is life changing yes you could do those three things evil then you really got it going and when I wrote the book leadership's I've been sitting on that book probably for a good 12 years how do you really in fact a a lady in our on our team named Erin who does a lot of content for me yes she shared with me she said John you really need to get that book out and I kind of put it on the shelf and really wasn't too excited about getting out because I thought I don't know this may be a little too simple but when I started writing I thought this is going to be life-changing and and now that I'm looking at the book coming out I'm so excited because because here's what happens we start leading in a way that gives us some success and immediately we get in to this pattern and what we don't understand is that leadership if leadership is about anything it's about adjusting and being flexible and if you want to be a manager then nail it get it straight do it the same way every time that that's a that's management but when it comes to leadership and in fact if you go back into the 1980s there were no leadership books in bookstores they were all management books right because you were trying to manage your company your business and then things begin to change so fast people are saying this management stuff doesn't work because this baby isn't staying the same i I turned around and moved on me and so I've got to get in front of it and so leadership is all about being in front well if you're in front what the first things you know is if you're in front you don't know everything yes so so the issue is not knowing everything the issue is when you know something adjusting as quickly as you possibly can because because if we don't adjust quickly we miss it yes because it's a timing thing that's really today oh well I I was getting ready to speak for a company recently and their theme was fast forward and we were doing a pre called and they asked me said what's fast forward do you mean to you I said well fast means faster as you look in the future that if anybody thinks that the future is going to be a little bit slower or I love these because it just cost you can't just wait for things to slow to slow down for you it's so fast as faster but let me tell you something forward is shorter when I started off as a leader we had 10-year long-range plans and five year was a mid rate a short-range plan when I started off now I'm talking about the dark ages now well it was a two-year plan yeah well a two-year plan now that's a ridiculous long way I mean that's that's although that kinda makes you suck era you say I think that's a little bit long yeah so what I know is fastest faster and forward shorter so let me tell you something the only people they're gonna win our people that can make leadership's hmm and adjust quickly and so I wrote the book I talked about eleven leadership's yes that I've made it my five times and people ask me all the time they say John how have you stayed I'm 71 how have you stayed on top of your game and I said it's very simple it's not the same game okay baseball is called baseball but it's not the same game so you don't go to the baseball game the second day and say oh my gosh now wait a minute that leadoff hitter got a single yesterday oh he struck out oh my lord did you see it maybe had the same title yeah but it isn't the same game yeah and and you don't lead today's game on yesterday's result no Babe Ruth says once they said yesterday's homerun won't win today's game and I'll tell you what yesterday's thinking won't win today's game either so I talked about leadership's that you need to make in your life to keep you on the edge and to keep you adjustable and flexible so that you can really so that you could really lead your people well because here's what I know here's what I know people don't like change you're right so when the leader is resistant to change he's going to get into this leadership gravity pool or she is that's going to go down every time because of contagion you're not gonna have the people behind you saying come on let's make some more changes let's listen let's make some more adjustments no no there remember they're wanting to hold on to what they have and your job as a leader is to say there's something better if you'll just if you just let this go there's something better for you here tomorrow and that's the you know and that's what the good the good leaders do you say I think the timing for this book based on what you described is so requisite I was in and involved him you know obviously like you are multiple different companies in a meeting last week and one of the folks in that company that was leading at whom I like a great deal but five different times in the meeting that person said in the meeting well the way we've always done it is and I thought this is the beginning of the death of that organization the wave always done it is I the way you've always done it is isn't necessarily we should be doing now it's interesting you take a look at my guy like Belichick coach Belichick in the NFL right great example great guy and people say well why have the coaches that have left him maybe not had the success that he's had and I think one of the reasons that happens I work with a lot of the guys in that league I think oftentimes when a coach leaves someone like that they're constantly saying well what coach Belichick always did is meanwhile coach Belichick is evolving all the time and you've got this snapshot of the year - you were with him and so I think that's absolutely true in almost every business that leaders take snapshots of both their own company or maybe even the person they worked with in the past that was a great leader yeah Malcolm Gladwell makes a great statement on that and he's and he basically a statement is that if you are comfortable today with what you were comfortable with yesterday you're already in trouble and I believe I believe that to be do you think it's part of you John I mean I was thinking about you driving over here we have several mutual friends and I mean right when I met you you you are the most energized intense confident kind person did I recall ever meeting right I'm sure I've met I mean you are 71 years old yet it seems like you're on your a-game all right now eight plus games like eight plus and I know even how difficult was even first is to get a conversation today and so you embody these things other things about that I think is make something leader great too as they're congruent so meaning the things you're writing about are the things you're doing it's so beautiful and you're just so I want to make sure everyone has a chance to get this book so the books out in a couple weeks everybody comes out February 5th but they can pre-order it right now on amazon.com on Amazon absolutely so you're gonna want to make sure that you do that everybody now you want to be the first people to get this book I obviously cannot wait for this book I want the different organizations I'm involved with to read this as well I'm telling you listen everyone not that John needs this my full complete entire endorsement of the things this man teaches and writes you have for me and so please go get this it's gonna serve you when we say leader by the way a lot of you ladies that are listening to this that are entrepreneurs you know your number one leadership job is dad or mom and so more talk about the law the catalyst ask yourself who's the catalyst in your family who's the one changing your family tree who's the one leading your family who's the one setting the culture in your family as a parent how great are you at identifying giftedness and your children and bringing that out of them all of these principles apply not just in the business space or just in the faith space can we talk about a couple chapters in the book though do you mind I'm gonna copy the boss well we're limited on time but I want to max you out here a little bit so because I watched this one of the chapters in the book we're not gonna give them to the entire book away just a couple of just couple thoughts on a couple of the chapters pleasing people to challenging people the relational shift so many leaders are afraid to or unwilling to challenge people I think often times perhaps that's because they haven't built the relationship with them that they need to I'm not sure whether it is but can you just speak to what do you mean by pleasing people to channel well that was and that was one of my most difficult shifts hmm because I grew up in a very wonderful home relationally strong and so I kind of had this idealistic idea about people that they all got along and so when I started pastoring people of faith okay and so here I am in an environment which basically grew up with with very little contention and and strife and so I'm having it and so I my first thought is well I'm not leading oh my gosh if I was leading better they would all be happy and so my goal for the first really for the bout the first three years was to make everybody happy so I'd go around and if you weren't happy I don't run over and say okay okay what do I needing to make you happy and of course you've got a long list so I'm over there I'm trying to fulfill that list I'm going over there and I make happy and and you know after a period of time I began to realize this is not leadership you know I my goal isn't to make people happy I'm not a clown I'm a leader my goal is to help people and all of a sudden I realized when you help people they're not always happy and so my responsibility is to help you not satisfy you and and so who when I was writing the 21 irrefutable laws of leadership I was signing books and and and at the 21 laws the guy who brought the book had to be signed in some sign and he said I disagree with one of your laws and and I said oh that's okay unless I didn't hand it back to him and he just stood there look daddy said you I don't think you hear me said I disagree with one of your laws okay realize that it wasn't okay with him that was okay with you I didn't write the book to make you happy I wrote the book to help you it's like like a person says hide this the law of gravity outputs okay go to a four-story building jump off the laws don't ask you if you like them they'll all say these are the laws you got to learn and and so I it was a tough adjustment for me too to go from trying to make everybody happy to understanding that there's some loneliness and leadership in their times you makes decisions that people are are not gonna be pleased with but that's that's that's that's leadership and that's what we're supposed to I can't wait for people to read that chapter because I do think that that is a well it's a huge something much more unfilial so again everybody says leader shifts it's out February 5th you need get your hands on this and I don't want to make I don't to make sure that we give away the books this one ask you one more question about one thing in the book just because I need to know at least 5% of the chapter from and then we'll we'll get I want to know what you meant by trained leaders and transformational leaders just just what that means and then they can obviously read the book to get all the details but what's a trained leader compared to a transformational well that now you're you're in the core of my calling because I have an organization a nonprofit organization called equip and so it's designed to Train leaders and so we in the especially in the faith community made a commitment to we start off with a what we call a million leader mandate let's see if we can train a million leaders in the world we accomplish that and and and again it's a vision as you go to the vision expands and I said now be trained a million liters I wonder if we could train a leader in every country of the world and so we focus on in in 19 years from starting this organization in the nineteenth year we had trained five million leaders in every country the world we are the largest leadership training organization in the world and it was so fulfilling and so satisfied to me and so the board we got together I mean we're here obviously or having celebrations and parties and we had hit this and so we're in a board meeting and it was kind of like wow look what we did and we did and all of a sudden there was a restlessness within me and and and I said you know what I think there's a level higher than what we've done and they're all look at it what I mean we trained all these leaders and and we went into I've been about a three-hour discussion that day with my board because they're a lot upset poor let's just let's end it let's we we just scored we just won the Super Bowl and here you're kind of wanting to dive back in and what a totem was I said well the good news is we've trained leaders so leaders know what to do but just because you know how to lead doesn't mean you're changing lives and I said I think there's a higher level of leadership than trained leaders and that's transformed leaders and so we've got to figure this out and and honestly even my key people they look deficit well I don't think we understand this transformation what's transformation and what I told them was I can't explain it but when you see it you'll know it and so we started going in and and developing the identity the characteristics of a transformational leader and-and-and and then we started understanding that if you're gonna transfer people gonna be transform it's got to be in small groups like roundtables not in massive audiences and we trained in auditoriums and that's about it says people are taking good notes and they they're learning it but transformation happens when you and I are talking and you're encouraging me and challenging me and I'm asking questions and we're having that give-and-take so we said let's go see if we can transform countries and we started with Guatemala and we do we we there's just 3 things to think about we start top-down we don't even go into country unless the president asked us so we come in by the invitation of the present we have 22 presidents of countries who have now asked us to come in and do transformation so I mean the lines getting long because of insurance so top down because influence filters down it doesn't filter out and so so I mean we don't you know with top government top business top education top religion top media top arts we go and we get permission so it's top down but then transformation also it's it goes it goes small round table to big mass movements don't begin with the mass they began a few people so it goes you know roundtables small big and then we teach values because what changes people's lives are values which is inside out it's inside out small big top down and we've got this strategy and we've trained a half a million people in Guatemala now oh my god oh and we're going for the tipping point ten percent of a nation we're wanting to be in round tables because the you know that's the typical Gladwell talks about and we're in Paraguay now and we're and we are in Costa Rica and we you know I just came back from Kenya I went to Saudi Arabia this year by the invitations of the leaders you know of the country and so it's so it's so excited and so in leadership I talk about transformation and and it's just one chapter but it's a shift I made and it was a great shift and but probably every book I write from now and I'll have something transformation because I'm we're seeing such life changed and I'm living and watching this that it's kind of like it's contagious I'm wanting to share with others because I think that once the leader understands transformation they go to a whole new level of their leadership and now now people aren't just following you because you're going to help them be successful they're following you because their life is being you know my gosh and that's a whole different game you everybody I know you're hearing this and we've taken so much of your time but this man's you just a treasure I mean there's just there's one there's one of him everybody there's nobody like this that there's no one that has this depth of understanding this depth of faith this depth of character the ability to communicate is right when we drive an orator I've said just the minute he opens his mouth it's just beautiful when you hear in a deep voice and his cadence and it's I just feel like I love being your presence because I feel like I'm with somebody who's chasing the calling of their life that's that's fulfilling their purpose and I just think you're a treasure and I I want people to get leaders shifts obviously an Amazon February 5th but I also want them experiencing you beyond that and so other places they can find you our social media I've got a couple million people is it John Maxwell on all of the social media question we'll put it up on the screen here it's John Maxwell comm they go to that and you know I have a coaching company oh my gosh yes we started coaching how many seven years ago we've got 20 over 20,000 coaches in 152 countries now and they can find that through John Maxwell or John Maxwell team.com yeah okay Jonathan team and also Instagram Twitter all of the platforms follow John guys you want to be getting wouldn't you love to be hearing this sort of stuff on a very regular basis and so not only should you be involved with his books but you should be listening a couple more questions before we go personal ones though if that's okay here one of the things I've admired about you all of my life obviously is that I'm proud when a man of faith is willing to be bold about it but also just watching successful men of faith but I'm gonna ask you if you don't mind answering no have you I'm curious personally and there are people listening to this that are at this this place in their life - have you ever struggled with your faith have you ever doubted your faith yeah you know I've struggled with my relationship with god I've never struggled with my faith and that's not because I'm a highly wonderful spiritual person I am an automatic faith trusting person okay III don't have a lot of cynicism skepticism in my life that kind of makes me kind of look in fact probably my strength is my weakness I'm very trusting with people and so the good news is everybody feels very embraced and the bad news is that I can certainly and have had times when that wasn't that wasn't the best thing so with my faith as far as my faith in God that's never relationship I have and and and it's always over sinners always around one thing see I believe that the key to success for a person of faith is obedience so if somebody said John how can I be have a successful walk with God I would just say obedience because there's that's how we get in the rhythm of a relationship is obedience and there have been times I've been disobedient and what I tell people is when you're in the rhythm of a relationship with God in obedience it's very natural it yeah I don't get up so I'm really obedient today and oh my gosh you know whew is that I'm just in that rhythm but what I tell people all the time is if you're in a rhythm of obedience and then you do something wrong it's it just stands that it waves of flying it's like you may not know you're always obedient but you will know when you're disobedient and so and there been times when I put myself over God and put my own desires over God or my own will or my own way over God and and you know I feel kind of comfortable with that because David did that you know and what did God say about David he's a man after my own heart yes and why did he say that he said that not because David was a perfect man right but it was because every time God began to deal with him David's great desire was to get back over to that rhythm of obedience again with God I mean it didn't he didn't resist him it he strayed but he came back so my gosh I've got I got to get back over in that rhythm and I think what God looks for in us is not perfection but I think he does look for us to have a heart to serve Him and to love and to seek Him does that make sense it does that's a wonderful answer and I appreciate you building on the answer in to because I think sometimes people observe somebody like you maybe me once in a while and they think that we never have a struggle like Oh or then we live perfectly all the time and I think that vulnerability helps so much I get very uncomfortable with the leadership pedestal yeah they're very uncomfortable because people want to put me there all the time because you know they look up and they kind of admire what you've done and I had a great mentor a great mentor that helped me many many years ago that really centered to me and and here's what he said his name was Fred Smith and he said John in fact I will never forget Heat Fred Smith Fred Smith no no not not the Express guy another Fred Smith okay out of Dallas who is four also a very successful corporate CEO but that he had been the you know I'm just a kid and I've got the tenth largest church in America and I'm about 31 or 32 they took me out to a long lunch on Sunday after church and he said John great service wonderful wonderful wonderful and said I really need to teach you something about giftedness and it what he told me it was he said your gifts are greater than you and he said you have these amazing gifts and so people they'll they're attracted to what you're doing there they'll say John you're amazing said when people tell you're amazing always understand that they're confused you're not amazing at all he says you're human you're a sinner you're you're prone to mess up and and and make screw ups again he said there's nothing amazing about you John he said what they really are seeing is your giftedness yes and so he said John when people want to tell you how wonderful you are he said you're not wonderful you're just a human sinner like everyone else there's nothing that set you apart from anyone else except your giftedness so he said when they're on their feet and giving you a standing ovation smile wave to them but understand they're applauding your gifts they're not applying and I'm telling you at that day I walked out of the Brigantine restaurant in San Diego California and I said I got that yeah I got that and so what what does that do so when all this good stuff happens to me you know it goes right back to God because I didn't give myself the gift he gave it to me he is the total source of everything that's good about me and I'm the total source of everything that's screwed and I don't get those two confused at all you follow understand so what I'm gonna mess up I just look at myself because I've got the blade but when when the good stuff happens to me it's it's him and that centered me yes and I can tell you today that I'm very appreciative when people you know Johnny hearing all over you but when they say all those things I'm walking off the stage I'm saying to me saying to God the only reason they're standing is because you gave me these gift and by the way he can take him from me anytime he wants to and so therefore I want to make sure that I always grateful for that gift because again a gift could be given but a gift can be taken away that's so beautiful one more question yes sir last one can I just tell you something oh yeah it's so good to have a hero of mine and somebody that's been a role model of mine exceed my expectations as a man and so in this short time we've had just feels really good for me you know I hope I hope I hope that someday people feel that way the way I feel about you I've watched we've spoken on the same obviously agendas a couple different times I've read your stuff but I've looked up to you and you exceed my expectations so this is that this is the beginning of a of a long beautiful relationship and I feel that way ya know this is this is kind of like the the catalyst for us to now wonderful spend some time together very greatly admire you thank you and am grateful very grateful for the fur you let me be with you today o our audience felt grateful and so am I so thank you last question I want to ask it on behalf cuz we both started out let's let's help people today and obviously you've done that in many many folds over but there's somebody there's people watching this they say look I'd like to start to transform my life yeah you know I mean there's transformational leaders but I need to transfer my life I want to take step towards being happier being more successful and they had a minute with John Maxwell they ran into you in a coffee shop I said mr. Maxwell I've got a question for you what would your advice be to me about just transforming my life what would be the step you would take the thought I should have the action maybe I should take your answer to them with me yeah well in fact I'm gonna talk to it right now but being a person of faith the first thing I would share with you is a relationship with God okay and if you don't have a relationship with God you're my friend love you as much as some what it does so please understand that I'm not trying to convert you it's just that when you find something that really is beautiful you want to share with everybody and and I remember when I became a person of faith the my diverse that grabbed me the most is the verse that says if a person is in Christ he becomes a new creation and and I did I became a new person again because him now let's skip that okay if you that person faith just act like you never heard it okay let's go to the real thing I would sit down to the table with you and I'd say if you really want to be transformed you have to live an intentional life this is so simple I don't want you to miss it most people don't lead their life they accept their life and when you accept your life you are living on things that are not worthy of your time and effort and energy and I usually heard me say the one with everything worthwhile is uphill the reason I want you to understand that is to go uphill you have to be intentional nobody ever went uphill by accident you've never read a book on accidental achievements you have to be intentional with what you do and who you are and so I would just say to you find your strengths become very intentional and and and commit your life every - it's all uphill it's all up here listen it's very successful he's happy he's got great businesses you made a lot of money could can I tell you something it's still uphill for him see the great mistake we make is we think I'm going to go out and make enough money in it and there's a day when I just I can relax and I can rest and everything is gonna be easy kind of taste something the day did you have that day you know one of your children you know gets in an accident you got problems we'll never ever leave you issues obstacles difficulties that they're always going to surround you so you never get to that place where you've got it made you're not supposed to got it mate you're supposed to add value to people and it's all uphill oh my gosh so the moment I understand that then what happens is I commit myself to it and then it becomes a beautiful up hill climbing life because one thing is beautiful about going up hill is the scenery is really good so you've got to be intentional with it so that's what I would say through the mom be intentional start today and here's what's right and here's the difference good intentions are overrated gosh I know with so many people well I'm going to do that yes I think that's a good idea I think I'm going to do that so good can good intentions are the most it's the most overrated phrase in the world you've got to go from good intentions to good actions nothing happens until you've got good actions and you won't have good actions until you're intentional with your life my name is John and I'm your friend I'm so grateful you're my friend and now you've made millions more friends that are so grateful for that connection with you so thank you thank you so much brother I mean honestly I it's Maya right you sure it's my pleasure and everybody I know that you're grateful - please do a few things I'm gonna ask you number one I'd like you to go get John's book because it's gonna help you he doesn't need to sell another book out of the 30 million he sold he wants to serve you and help you so please go get leader shifts also follow John on social media you already follow me or you wouldn't be watching this but I want to ask you to please refer the podcast of different people subscribe leave a review help him go up the rankings and just remember every day on Instagram I run the max out two-minute drill and what that means is when I make a post of my main feat everybody makes a comment within the first two minutes you go into a daily drawing we pick a winner every day some of them with my book they could win John's book coaching calls with me max out gear you name it it's just to keep you engaged in the max out universe and in the community so make sure you're making comments on my post and staying engaged and connected with me John thank you so much for today it exceeded my expectations god bless you everybody and max out hey guys thanks for sticking around if you'd like more click the videos right here they're exactly what you need to see next and if you're new here hit subscribe and become a part of a max outt community and tell me what you think about the videos in the comments below I read all of them every week and I select winners and get all kinds of prizes gear coaching calls with me make a comment

Channel: EdMylett

Views: 197,063

Rating: 4.9065642 out of 5

Keywords: ed mylett, john maxwell, mylett, john maxwell intentional living, john maxwell 5 levels of leadership, john maxwell audiobook, john maxwell 21 irrefutable laws of leadership, ed mylett motivational speech, ed mylett podcast, john maxwell attitude, john maxwell confidence, john maxwell winning with people, network marketing success, motivational speakers 2018, motivational speaker tony robbins, tony robbins confidence live

Id: 4Tw_j9wiznw

Length: 62min 31sec (3751 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 09 2019