A leadership talk with John Maxwell I’ll never forget
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I am a great believer in "growing while you're going," and "learning while you're listening." The apostle Paul reminds us in Ephesians 5:16 that we are to "redeem" or make the most of our time, and one way I am able to do that is by continually filling my mind with the wisdom of others.
This is why on my afternoon walks with my dog Maggie, I am almost always accompanied by another walking friend, and yesterday it was the well-known leadership expert John Maxwell. I figure anyone who has written over 100 books must have something of value to say, and he did
Our conversation was private, just me, Maggie and John talking and teaching me through my I phone.
I learned a lot on yesterday's walk, and because I didn't want to forget any of John's wisdom, I re-listened to him while typing some of the valuable lessons I learned during our conversation. I thought I would share some of these lessons with you.
John's message dealt with the importance of focusing on the future, and not the past. As he spoke, I was reminded of what the apostle Paul had to say about this subject. He said, "We are to forget about the past and look forward to the future as we press on to the upward call of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14).
John reminded me that "the future is drained by looking back to what might have been" and that we reveal our potential by where we focus. He reminded me that, "If what I did yesterday seems big, I haven't done anything today." One remark he made that I will never forget is that "a doubled-minded focus depletes energy."
He quoted the wisdom he had learned from a couple of his friends, one of whom said, "The most tiring exercise in the world is carrying yesterday on your back." He quoted Mark McCormack, a sports representative and author, who taught him that "You can't think clearly about your future if you're obsessed with the past."
John stressed to me that "unless I believed in myself, I would never believe in my future."
During our walk, I learned I must be careful not to " yearn for the past and get stuck in it, but to learn from the past and then let go of it."
And probably the most important lesson I learned yesterday was a lesson in home improvement. He said, "It is better to construct the future than to varnish the past." I thought to myself how easy it is for me to live in the past, to varnish up past accomplishments and achievements. But such a backward focus will only obscure even greater growth opportunities and accomplishments that might still lie ahead. Wow, that really struck me as important to keep in mind.
John told me he gets tired of talking to people who are always dreaming about the future, but who are doing nothing today that will help them accomplish what they want in their future. "I don't have time for such people," he said, "for such people are only involved in wishful thinking and not purposeful planning."
John reminded me that If I am not doing something today to help me achieve tomorrow's dream, I am wasting my time. He said, "if I would do today what I want to do tomorrow, and if I will do it well enough, tomorrow will arrive," and I might add, so will my dream.
And as I arrived back home, John concluded our time together by leaving with me with this parting thought: "The future is that time when you'll wish you had done what you aren't doing now."
 | Tom Crenshaw serves as Connections Pastor of the New Monmouth Baptist Church (non denominational) where he previously served as a three year interim.He has been married to Jean for almost 50 years, and they have four children, all of whom are teachers.Tom loves perennial gardening, umpiring high school baseball, coaching baseball and football, fishing for small mouth bass, rooting for his favorite team, the Cleveland Indians, and listening to ‘real’ country music, the classic kind. Learn More » |
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