Maxwell does it again! For those of you who know me, to say that I am a huge John Maxwell fan is an understatement! If John writes something or communicates something, I get it. I would recommend you doing the same. The 5 Levels of Leadership was a great read. John Maxwell has been teaching the 5 Levels for over 30 years and finally put it into book form.

Anyone who is a leader or desires to become one needs to read this book. John teaches us that there are 5 levels of leadership and we are all on different levels in our personal journeys and also on different levels with all of the people we lead.

The 5 Levels:

Level 1: Position (Rights) – People follow you because they have to.

Level 2: Permission (Relationships) – People follow you because they want to.

Level 3: Production (Results) – People follow you because of what you have done for the organization.

Level 4: People Development (Reproduction) – People follow you because of what you have done for them.

Level 5: Pinnacle (Respect) – People follow you because of who you are and what you represent.

Think about people you follow. Aren’t there some people you follow because you have to (they are your boss!). Aren’t there some people you follow because you like them and naturally want to follow them? Then at another level, don’t you follow people because of what they have accomplished in life? Then there are those we follow because they are willing to invest in and develop us (Level 4). Finally, there are level 5 leaders. Examples of level 5 leaders would be: Mandela, John Wooden, Mother Theresa, and Gandhi. We follow them because of who they are and what they represent.

John walks you through the pros and cons of each level as well as how to grow to the next level in very practical steps.

The book was eye-opening for me. For me, Getting to level 2 is easy, I am naturally great with people. However, To go to level 3 and 4, I am going to have to work hard to produce results and to develop people. As I continue to grow as a leader, I’ll be coming back to this book often to help me grow to the next level of leadership with the people I lead.

Bottom line: Get this book.

Buy it here:

Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership Nixon to Clinton

This book was a recommendation from John Maxwell for anyone who loves communication, leadership, and history. After reading this book, I am so glad he recommended it. I would have never read this book in a thousand years if I hadn’t had it recommended.

David Gergen was a speech writer in the White House for four presidents: Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. This book is a look into each of those men’s lives and leadership. This was one of the most fascinating books I have read. Imagine being able to watch the most powerful man on the planet lead up close. This book is as close as a lot of us will ever get.

Some of the lessons I learned from each President were:

Nixon: No matter how smart and talented you are, if you are not bigger on the inside than you are on the outside, and you lack integrity, it will come back to haunt you.

Ford: The first 100 days of any leadership position are the most important days you’ll lead. Make your word matter. Be comfortable with yourself enough to surround yourself with people smarter than you!

Reagan: Courage matters in leadership. Connecting with people when you communicate is essential to getting their buy in. Optimism is contagious. It is a leaders job to instill hope in the people they lead.

Clinton: If you are the leader, lead. Integrity is everything.

This book is a must read. Get it now!

Buy it here:

Some Highlights (To view the rest of my highlights, go here!) 

• One of the first lessons about public life, I discovered, is to choose your mentors wisely.

• De Gaulle also helped Nixon see that people want more out of life than material gain. They aspire to higher purposes, and a leader who can summon them to something beyond themselves can touch off revolutionary changes.

• Nixon’s downfall was living proof of a cardinal rule: leadership starts from within.

• de Gaulle: “Nothing great is done without great men, and these are great because they willed it.”

• One of the most important exercises of public accountability by a president is an open press conference. There are no other occasions when his constituents can hear him answer questions posed by independent monitors.

• early in a public career, a young person should either sign up with a bright, shining star who can serve as a mentor—in effect, become a tail to someone else’s kite—or join a highly professional, dynamic organization that hones one’s skills.

• Recent history suggests that the true significance of the First Hundred Days is this: they are the most precious time in the life of a president to define who he is and what he is seeking to achieve through his leadership.

• Reagan wasn’t just comfortable in his own skin. He was serene. And he had a clear sense of what he was trying to accomplish. Those were among his greatest strengths as a leader. Nobody had to tell him those things.

• What no one could plan, his display of courage, became indispensable to his leadership.

• History teaches that almost nothing a leader says is heard if spoken only once.

• that leaders must inspire people with confidence in the future. Only if he truly believes in the future himself will his followers make the leap and join him. Optimism is contagious.

• THE MOST MEMORABLE PRESIDENTS of the twentieth century have been excellent communicators. Teddy Roosevelt invented the bully pulpit to drive the country forward. Woodrow Wilson’s speeches are some of the finest expressions of idealism and of democratic sentiment ever voiced by a political leader. Franklin Roosevelt gave hope and light to millions of downtrodden Americans with his fireside chats. John F. Kennedy, the first president elected through television, turned it into a magic wand. And then there was Reagan.

• As Winston Churchill once wrote, “Of all the talents bestowed upon men, none is so precious as the gift of oratory. He who enjoys it wields a power more durable than that of a great king. He is an independent force in the world.”

• Reagan spent over four thousand hours appearing before factory workers, civic associations, and business groups. On average, that works out to be roughly ten hours a week for eight consecutive years.

• One thing he cannot do is dither. A president must be able to make decisions without hesitation on his own and then, like Harry Truman after he decided to drop the atomic bomb, go home and sleep well at night. He is the only one under our constitutional order who has that awesome responsibility.

• Had there been no Hillary in his life, I doubt there would have been a White House, either.

• As a friend said to me, sadly, “Bill Clinton would have been a great president if he had not been who he was.”

• FDR was ambitious, just like Clinton, but he overcame his narcissism. Clinton has not fully done that. While superb at putting himself into others’ shoes, Clinton has viewed too many people as instruments for his own advancement.

• Clinton had grasped the helm, but because he lacked an inner compass, he had neither a course nor a port that remained firm.

• Reflecting on his presidency, I believe Clinton was elected too early for his own good. That night he declared for the presidency and called me at home, in 1991, he did not sound like a man who expected to win.

• The larger point is that we need to face reality: it’s a lot tougher for anyone to lead the country today than it was in the first half of the twentieth century.

• The best presidents are ones who surround themselves with the best advisers.

• The point is that the most effective presidents create a living legacy, inspiring legions of followers to carry on their mission long after they are gone.

This was one of the most important books I have read in a long time. When I heard about it being a book on overcoming offense, I thought, “I don’t need that, I don’t have much offense in my heart.” Wrong! I had tons of offense built up in my heart, that I had not dealt with.

This book really help set me free. I am so glad John Bevere wrote it! This should be required reading for everyone. We all deal with offense. Whether it is the offense of a friend, a family member, a co-worker, or another leader.

My Big Takeaway: “Absolutely no man, woman, child, or devil can ever get you out of the will of God! No one but God holds your destiny.”

If you never read this book, get a hold of that quote! When I realized that nothing can get me out of the will of God except my own bitterness, unforgivness, and offense, I became free of all the offense that I had built up in my heart.

Whether you feel like you need to deal with this subject or not, I encourage you to read the book. I think you may come away surprised. I promise you that God will do a work in your life through this book. Get it!

Buy it here:

Some Highlights:

• The most effective way for the enemy to blind us is to cause us to focus on ourselves.

• OUR RESPONSE TO AN OFFENSE DETERMINES OUR FUTURE.

• It is impossible that no offenses should come. —LUKE 17:1

• This truth remains: Only those you care about can hurt you. You expect more from them—after all, you’ve given more of yourself to them. The higher the expectations, the greater the fall.

• Just because you were mistreated, you do not have permission to hold on to an offense.

• God refines with afflictions, trials, and tribulations, the heat of which separates impurities such as unforgiveness, strife, bitterness, anger, envy, and so forth from the character of God in our lives.

• You will only repent when you stop blaming other people.

• When we filter everything through past hurts, rejections, and experiences, we find it impossible to believe God.

• When betrayal occurs, the relationship cannot be restored unless genuine repentance follows.

• Absolutely no man, woman, child, or devil can ever get you out of the will of God! No one but God holds your destiny.

• When you’re out of the will of God, you will not be a blessing or help to any church.

• Offended people believe everyone is out to get them. With this attitude it is difficult for them to see areas in their own lives that need change. They isolate themselves and conduct themselves in such a manner that invites abuse.

• “Many times God will allow people to run from situations He desires them to face if they are set on running from them in their hearts.”

• It is impossible to establish a healthy relationship with a person who has left another relationship bitter and offended. Healing must take place.

• WHAT WE LEARN IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD CANNOT BE LEARNED IN THE PRESENCE OF MEN.

• trials and tests locate a person. In other words, they determine where you are spiritually. They reveal the true condition of your heart. How you react under pressure is how the real you reacts

• A PERSON WHO CANNOT FORGIVE HAS FORGOTTEN HOW GREAT A DEBT GOD HAS FORGIVEN THEM.

• YOU GROW MORE FROM THE MOST CHALLENGING OFFENSES—THE ONES FOR WHICH YOU HAVE NOT BEEN TRAINED.