bedsitter23

How Successful People Grow: 15 Ways to Get Ahead in Life by John C. Maxwell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have to admit judging this book by its cover. This book is pretty thin with short chapters and it’s a rewrite of a previous book.

That said, Maxwell is a prominent name in the leadership/motivation space. If he is not quite a household name like Zig Ziglar or Steven Covey, he certainly is in that second tier.

That said, this book is really good for people looking for motivation, and by that I mean, everyone. I am closer to retirement than to my first job, but we should always grow. Indeed, as I watch friends in their 50s making successful life and career changes. So indeed, this would be a great book for anyone in their 20s, Maxwell makes the argument we should never settle.

Each chapter is short with action items, which means it makes a good ‘book club’ book but also good for pushing somebody who might need the extra bit of motivation. Maxwell gives truth that are sometimes simple and sometimes hard, but most importantly are truths. If you follow Maxwell’s word, the future is unlimited.
As far as motivational books go, this works well by keeping it simple and straightforward. Maxwell gives personal insight and makes it readable. It does not need more than brevity. Now, some of the decisions to be made might be tough, and it is easiest to go the path of least resistance, but you don’t grow that way.

Maxwell is a fan of volunteering, and this is true. Besides the obvious positive outcomes, one can also learn new skills and network with people you have never met. I have learned that there is a lot of potential in these circumstances as well as humility and passion. It is only something that I have done in recent years, and then only in small doses, but Maxwell is right in recommending it.

In fact, Maxwell is right at everything in the book, which includes such advise as finding mentors and evaluating interests and strengths. Maxwell got his start under Rev Robert Schuller and his background is as a preacher, so there is a strong moral compass in his words, but his argument that it is better to give than receive is a path to Leadership. As a quick aside, and as with Covey, Maxwell does not believe you can be a good leader and have major moral failings. This is an argument that is tough when we hear arguments about Leaders like JFK, MLK and Bill Clinton, who had mortal failings, but in a world, that is post- Enron and Madoff and post-#metoo, then it is maybe time we embrace Maxwell’s words.

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