When I was 18 years old, one of my mentors, Pastor Larry Bettencourt, handed me a CD with a leadership lesson on it. The lesson was called “Standing Tall” by John C. Maxwell. I never heard of him and I definitely never listened to a leadership CD before that time.
I put the CD in my CD players and within 5 minutes I was hooked! I didn’t know the lesson came with notes, so I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down everything John was saying. I rewound the lessons a few dozen times.
After listening to the lesson, I called Pastor Larry and said, “I want more of this! Give me everything you got!” Over the course of that next year, I’d literally take a lesson home each night and listen to it before bed. I would take some of Maxwell’s leadership DVD curriculum home and go through it over a weekend. I devoured everything I could!
John Maxwell has been a catalyst to so many changes in my life. So much of who I am and what I do is a result of John’s teachings.
To this day, I read everything he writes and still listen to his monthly leadership lessons. Without a doubt, he has been one of the most influential people in my life.
I love John because he was a pastor for 25 years and through his leadership training, he has positioned himself to be influential not only in the church world, but in the government world, education world, business world, etc. He uses the influence God gave him to make a difference for God. That’s definitely a dream and passion of my heart. I’m grateful for John paving the way!
Tonight I get to hear John speak in person for the first time ever. It’s always been a dream of mine to hear him live and get the opportunity to meet him! I’m hoping he’ll be doing a book signing after service so I get the chance to meet him. If I do, you’ll hear about it, trust me! I’m so fired up!
Who has had a huge impact on your life from a distance that you’ve never met or heard live before?
