John Calvin Maxwell is the one name that resonates the most in the world of leadership and leadership education. Having published over 100 books and worked with multiple Fortune 500 companies, John is a highly sought-after speaker and leadership professional.
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Surrounded by leaders
John C. Maxwell was born on February 20, 1947 in Garden City, Michigan.
While John was still a kid, his family moved to Ohio as his dad gave up his job at Ford Motor Company to go into the pastorate.
As John states it himself, I hit the parent lottery.
He was provided with emotional security from his mother and adopted a driven and encouraged personality from his father. As a kid, John and his siblings were required to read for at least 30 minutes daily. John's father steered him towards self-development books including
'How to Win Friends and Influence People' and 'The Power of Positive Thinking'.
Under the wing of John's older brother, Larry, he adopted an entrepreneurial mindset.
Together, they bought packets of flower seeds and re-sold them door-to-door. Later, they expanded to buying apartments around campus and renting them to other people.
From university to ministry
Up until John's junior year, he was more into sports and building relationships than studying.
As John was spending more time with his friends and on sports, he put little effort into his schoolwork and books.
That all changed when John felt a calling to go into ministry at the age of 17.
John set his sights on Ohio Christian University, where his father was president, fully devoting himself to his studies.
During his studies, Maxwell worked at a hardware store and at a meat company to pay for his schooling.
During weekends, John recruited for his college, earning him a scholarship for his last two years at the university.
And then, eventually, in 1969, John graduated from college, married his lifelong partner Margaret, and took a pastorate in Hillham, Indiana.
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People magnet
When John started out as a pastor in Hillham, there were only around 30 people who attended his sermons.
Within a period of 3 years, John was able to grow his attendee crowd to around 300 people.
This success led him to an opportunity at a larger church in Ohio, which made him move to Lancaster with his wife, eventually ending up as a pastor for the Skyline Church in San Diego. John was able to grow the congregation from 1000 to 3000 people, making Skyline Church one of the fastest-growing churches in America.
Latent writing skills
During his career as a successful pastor, John continued to grow and earned his master of divinity at Azusa Pacific University and his ministry doctorate from Fuller Theological Seminary. While studying, he was mentored by Dr. Les Parrot, who is a best-selling author and ordained minister.
John asked why Parrot wrote books and explained to him that books helped him influence more people than he could ever do in real life.
This compelled John to start his writing career, which soon turned out to be one of the best decisions he could ever make.
His first book, Think on These Things published in 1979, themed around how you think, determines who you are.
This book became the foundation for all John's future work.
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Maxwell's enterprise
In order to keep focused on his writing, John designed a frame work that he called REAL.
This is an abbreviation for; Relationships, Equipping, Attitude and Leadership.
These were the four main themes that stood out the most during his career and he decided to build around them.
In 1995, John devoted all his attention to speaking opportunities and leadership resources by stepping down, after 14 years, as pastor of Skyline.
John's first company, INJOY, helped distribute leadership resources to pastors nationwide.
His first-company grew fast and so did the demand, expanding from pastoral leadership to the general business community.
Following up on the success of John's first company, he founded a nonprofit called EQUIP with his brother Larry.
This company focuses on training leaders in developing countries.
Partnering with Paul Martinelli and Scotty Fay, John founded in 2011 The John Maxwell Team, an international coaching certification company .
"Change is inevitable - Growth is optional"
John C. Maxwell
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Ever-growing legacy
At the time of writing, John C. Maxwell:
- Published over 100 books, including the best-selling titles 'The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership' and 'The 5 Levels of Leadership'.
- He has sold over 31 million copies of his books worldwide in 50 different languages.
- Named Top 25 Author by Amazon.com
- Is named Top leadership and management expert by Inc. Magazine
- Received the Mother Teresa Prize for Global Peace and Leadership
- Received the Horatio Alger Award
- EQUIP trained over 6 million leaders worldwide
- The John Maxwell Team has trained more than 21,000 people in 150 countries.
- Is a professional songwriter and music composer
Listen to John Maxwell's music by clicking here
At the age of 77, John Maxwell continues to inspire millions of leaders and entrepreneurs around the world, leaving a lasting legacy for generations to come.
"A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way."
John C. Maxwell
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This is written out of my uttermost respect for the Maxwell Family and the impact they made on my personal life!
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