We will share a variety of quotes from thought leaders of past and present. These quotes will be listed on the homepage and then saved here for later reference. Please take time to think on the ideas behind what these great leaders have to share with us. If the definition for “wisdom” is “knowledge rightly applied”, then how do these quotes provide for insights and right application for your life? What do they mean to you? How do they encourage you?
“Great leaders move us. They ignite our passions and inspire the best in us. When we try to explain why they are so effective, we speak of strategy, vision, or powerful ideas … the reality is much more primal: Great leadership works through the emotions.” – Daniel Goleman
“Everyone who is born dies, but not everyone who dies has truly lived. God does not want you and me to die full of potential. He wants you to live for something worth dying for. When Christ’s cause truly underpins your life, you will discover meaning and purpose, and your life will never be the same again.” – Brian Houston
“What God has inside of you is far too important for you to keep on your own. You were born with purpose!” – Anonymous
“Articulating a purpose broader than making money can guide strategies and actions, open new sources for innovation, and help people express corporate and personal values in their everyday work.” – Rosabeth Moss Kanter, HBS Professor
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” – President John Quincy Adams
“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” – Simon Sinek
“Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.” – John Maxwell
“When people are empowered, released, and have a sense of vision and leadership that inspires, people will flourish.” – Brian Houston
“To improve is to change; to perfect is to change often.” – Winston Churchill
“The authority by which the Christian leader leads is not power but love, not force but example, not coercion but reasoned persuasion. Leaders have power, but power is safe only in the hands of those who humble themselves to serve.” – John Scott
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – Winston Churchill
“Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.” – Tom Peters
“The best CEOs I know are teachers, and at the core of what they teach is strategy.” – Michael Porter
“Your gifts are not about you. Your leadership is not about you. Your purpose is not about you. A life of significance is about serving those who need your gifts, your leadership, your purpose.” – Kevin Hall
“Emphasize your strengths on your resume, in your cover letters and in your interviews. It may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people simply list everything they’ve ever done. Convey your passion and link your strengths to measurable results. Employers and interviewers love concrete data.” – Marcus Buckingham
“When you’re surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible“ – Howard Schultz
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin
“Success is… knowing your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others.” – John Maxwell (Week of 7/13/14)
“If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” ~ Steve Jobs (Week of 6/22/14)
“Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.” – Peter Drucker (Week of 6/8/14)
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use the change the world.” – Nelson Mandela (Week of 4/27/14)
“Transformational leaders don’t start by denying the world around them. Instead, they describe a future they’d like to create instead.” – Seth Godin (Week of 4/6/14)
“Leadership is about helping people find their purpose, get to the right place, and encouraging them to do great things.” – Anonymous (Week of 2/9/14)
”Recently, I was asked if I was going to fire an employee who made a mistake that cost the company $600,000. No, I replied, I just spent $600,000 training him. Why would I want somebody to hire his experience?” ~ Thomas John Watson, Sr. (Week of 1/19/14)
“I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 things that do not work.” ~ Thomas Edison (Week of 1/12/14)
“All successful people have a goal. No one can get anywhere unless he knows where he wants to go and what he wants to be or do.” – Norman Vincent Peale (Week of 1/5/14)
“You can learn from others’ experiences, but there is no way you can be successful when you are trying to be like them. People trust you when you are genuine and authentic, not a replica of someone else.” ~ HBR Article on Discovering Your Authentic Leadership (Week of 12/29/13)
“In order to thrive at work, people need two things (1) a sense of learning or growing and (2) a feeling of being energized and vital about what they are doing” ~ Gretchen Spritzer (Week of 12/15/13)
“There are things we know, there are things we don’t know, and there are things we don’t know that we don’t know … Also, there is stuff we think we know that is just not true, which gets us in the most trouble. ~ Anonymous Pepperdine Professor (Week of 12/8/13)
“You get more of whatever you focus on … Much of the time, consciously and unconsciously, we dwell on what we don’t want, and that’s what we get. Stop fixating on the negatives and rewire your brain to focus on positive outcomes.” ~ Laura Goodrich (Week of 11/24/13)
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. (Week of 11/17/13)
