Pod Insights The Quote of the Day Show | Daily Motivational Talks John Maxwell: “Beware of Success.” About this episode John Maxwell shares powerful reflections on leadership, courage, and growth learned through years of experience. In this lesson, he explains why success can become a trap, why leaders must embrace difficult decisions, and how reflection creates wisdom. This episode will challenge you to lead with courage, keep evolving, and stop seeking everyone’s approval. Want Ad-Free Episodes? Join QOD Club and hear zero ads inside our Circle community. Plus, book clubs, mentorship calls, weekly business trainings, and new likeminded friends. Get started for only $9. Source: Developing the Leader Within You - 1998 VHSHosted by Sean CroxtonFollow me on InstagramSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript 0:01 Speaker 00 There have been basically three results of my reflection time. And I want to share those with you in the beginning of this lesson. First of all, over time, the important and the unimportant separate.
0:20 Speaker 00 They don't do it in an instant and they don't do it in an event, but I want to tell you, over time, time does something for us that there is no other entity that will bring into our lives that can do the same. Time allows the unimportant and the important to separate. For example, when I resigned and left Skyline, I made a commitment that for one year, I would not make any more major decisions, that I would just sit and think and reflect again and pray and meditate and get centered the way that I want to.
1:00 Speaker 00 The second result of my reflection time for the last 18 months is that over time,
1:08 Speaker 00 the significance of important leadership principles becomes clear.
1:16 Speaker 00 What I basically am able to do over time of reflection is the things that have really made the difference in leadership again separate from the things that are important in leadership but not as important. And I'm able to look back and say, "That made the difference." It was that principle that took me to another level. And the third result of reflection time is over time, the application of important principles becomes essential. And my goal is in our hour or plus together here in this lesson, is to cover all three of these parts of reflection.
1:57 Speaker 00 I love the little thought I have here right in your notes, "If only we could have second thoughts first."
2:06 Speaker 00 The church's success of yesterday are killing us today. In times of great successes, leaders feel little need to be reflective. Rather, the impetus is to go, go, go. But to go, go, go, when the congregation is headed in the wrong direction, we'll only get it there faster.
2:28 Speaker 00 Let me just stop here for a moment, and then I'm going to give you the 10 reflections I have as leader.
2:34 Speaker 00 The greatest enemy that you and I'll ever have as a leader is not our failures, but our successes.
2:42 Speaker 00 Beware of success. Here's why, very simple. We all want it, we all love it, and when we achieve it, there's a tendency for us to want to dwell there. Isn't that right?
2:55 Speaker 00 We say, "Oh, wow, I've got this down. I now know how to lead a church. I know how to run an organization. I've got this thing down." Well, what happens is that no matter what we're doing,
3:11 Speaker 00 if it's successful, it's only a matter of time till it will become unsuccessful if we don't change.
3:19 Speaker 00 And now, there's a flip to that side, and it's wonderful. And no matter how bad we are, and how bad the failure is, if we stay there for a while, we'll pull out of that too. But the process of time and change
3:32 Speaker 00 causes us at times to, if we're not careful, to stay where we are and not progress the way we need to progress. A book, let me share with you, I think, two watershed books over the last, I don't know, 25 years in the church, for pastors and for church growth. Back in 1970, Elmer Townes wrote a book, he's a wonderful friend of mine, The 10 Largest Sunday Schools. And what it did for young pastors at that time for me is it just, it helped us to understand that you can grow a church, and it's wonderful to grow a church. And it showed us churches that were growing and put out a model. And it's the first kind of stimulating, growing church growth book that I ever read.
4:16 Speaker 00 Now, what's interesting about that book on the 10 Largest Sunday Schools, if you would pick it up today and look at it, I would tell you right now that most of those churches, you've never even heard of.
4:27 Speaker 00 What was great 25 years ago is not even known today.
4:36 Speaker 00 You will find none of those churches that would probably have a great Sunday School today. None of those ten. Many of them you'd never even know about.
4:45 Speaker 00 In fact, I was one day with Elmer Townes. It was a few years ago. We were getting ready to go down to watch the Masters Tournament in Augusta. And we were driving. I'd just done a leadership conference in South Carolina somewhere. I think it was in Columbia. And we were driving down to watch the Masters Tournament the next day. And I brought his book with me. And as we're going down, we got into one of the most interesting discussions. I said, "ET, let me tell you something. This book has helped me, influenced me." I said, "Look at these churches in here you got in here." And I started reading them. I said, "You don't even know about this. And this is a goner. This one's dead." You know, this one should be. Will be. And I mean, they weren't vibrant churches.
5:26 Speaker 00 And then I said, "The reason I brought that up is why are they not vibrant churches today?" Well, it's very simple. I can tell you exactly why. They did something well. Got on that horse. Rode it. Until the sucker died.
5:44 Speaker 00 Now, let me give you a leadership principle. It's not one of the ten, so it's not one of my greater ones, but it's one that just came to my mind.
5:54 Speaker 00 It's a very simple principle.
5:57 Speaker 00 When the horse is dead, dismount.
6:08 Speaker 00 Okay? Okay.
6:14 Speaker 00 Now.
6:16 Speaker 00 Reflections of a leader. Number one.
6:21 Speaker 00 Number one. And I don't have them in order of importance. I'm just going to give you some reflections. Leading others takes courage.
6:33 Speaker 00 Knowing the right decision is easy.
6:37 Speaker 00 Making the right decision is hard.
6:42 Speaker 00 I promise you in decision making, in leadership, leadership means courage and the moment that you stick your neck out,
6:53 Speaker 00 almost all decision making, I love it when people say, "Well, could you do an Enjoy Life Club on decision making?" I'd be glad to do a tape on decision making, it's not a problem. The problem is never making the decision. You already know the decision. And nine out of 10 times, you know the decision. The issue is not knowledge, the issue is guts.
7:16 Speaker 00 In fact, that's where leadership comes in. Leaders make the gutty decisions.
7:24 Speaker 00 They understand that the best decision is not always popular. They understand that their goal is not to make a kind of a palatable decision.
7:34 Speaker 00 They've gotta sometimes make a decision that's a tough decision. Now, this was very hard on me. I'm giving you reflections that I have learned and I can tell you right now, I say it very easily today, but I'm telling you, this was the first hard lesson I went through because I grew up in a home that was loving, an unconditionally loving home. I grew up in a home where, I hate to admit it, but it was just Johnny can do no wrong. Now Johnny did a lot of wrong, he was ordered, he got paddled. So it wasn't that, but I mean, it was affirming, it was loving, and it was, "Yes, you can."
8:07 Speaker 00 And I went to my first church.
8:11 Speaker 00 And I met my first dysfunctional people.
8:17 Speaker 00 And I met people that didn't love me like mom and dad loved me. And didn't believe in me like mom and dad believed in me. And I mean, I found out real quick that if I was gonna lead,
8:33 Speaker 00 I wasn't gonna make everybody happy.
8:36 Speaker 00 And it was gonna take some courage. And for a while, I decided not to lead. I decided to relate well, love well, make everybody happy, and just hang around and get the momentum going. And boy, it just, and it worked for a while, but it comes to a time, there comes a time in your life and in the life of your organization where you gotta make a tough decision. And it's at that moment you say, "Okay, what am I gonna do?"
9:03 Speaker 00 I remember my first vote in my first church. We were congregational. They voted every year on the pastor. First vote, 31 yes, 1 no, 1 abstained. I called my dad. I said, "Dad, should I stay?"
9:21 Speaker 00 Well, he said, "What was the vote?" I said, "Well, 31 yes, 1 no, 1 abstained. We know that abstained is a no. I mean, if they don't love you enough to put a yes on the ballot."
9:31 Speaker 00 I said, "I mean, should I stay?" I mean, I've got one person who says, "No." My dad is cracking up. He's laughing.
9:40 Speaker 00 He said, "John, stay. Believe me, it's the best vote you'll ever get."
9:46 Speaker 00 It's obvious to me, you're doing absolutely nothing in that church. It's obvious to me, you're a wimp. It's obvious to me, you haven't even stirred anything up yet. I mean, there were 31 yeses. Good Lord, son, what are you doing? Get on the ball.
10:03 Speaker 00 Kick mutt, uh, patootie, uh, something.
10:12 Speaker 00 I mean, I thought I was in trouble. I mean, I had one, in fact, for the next six months, you know what I did? Every Sunday, I went up and got behind a pole. And I looked.
10:24 Speaker 00 All right, where is that no vote?
10:31 Speaker 00 You see, in my first church, I had to answer a question that I had to ask. And that is, do I want to help people or make them happy? Ask the question. Can I tell you something? Grow up.
10:45 Speaker 00 If you're gonna need everybody's approval, you're gonna need everybody's affirmation, you're gonna need everybody saying, "Attaboy, go get 'em, you're wonderful. We think you're the best that's ever been here. You're the most wonderful pastor." If you, if you need that, go get a job.
10:58 Speaker 00 You know, the significance of this first reflection is that I learned this lesson early. And I'm very glad, because the result is, decision-making has given me optimal results. I promise you, I learned the lesson in my first church. I learned it well. And never since that time have I been a poll taker, a census taker, a burper of the people.
11:24 Speaker 00 I gotta make a tough decision. Smile, love them, look them in the eye, and go home and sleep like a baby.
11:33 Speaker 01 That was John C. Maxwell. His website is maxwellleadership.com. You can watch today's entire talk on YouTube. It's called "Developing the Leader Within You, 1998 VHS." All right, my friend, that is it for me. I'll see you tomorrow. We've got Brian Tracy on the show. I'll see you then. Peace.
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