My Day with John Maxwell and Michael Hyatt

This past Saturday I had the fortunate opportunity to spend the day with John Maxwell and Michael Hyatt. Okay, maybe there was 800 other people in the room, but it sure felt like it was just the three of us. I attened the A Day About Books one day conference, and I learned much more than the process of writing books.

I thought it might be helpful to a wider audience if I took a few moments and shared with you some of the highlights of what I learned. I wish you could have been there. I am personally determined to put into action what I learned. I don’t want my time to be wasted. Even while at the event, I saw others that seemed disengaged at times.

Even someone at my table was falling a sleep for a little while. Of course I don’t want to judge as I do not know his situation. It honestly still boggled my mind. I was on the edge of my seat and didn’t stop typing the entire day. I see people all of the time attend events and doing nothing about it. I don’t want that said of me.

What I Learned from John Maxwell

I have been a reader of John Maxwell for a long time. Much of his writing has challenged me in specific areas just when I needed it. I remember a specific time in my life when I felt like I hit rock bottom in my career. I was working in an evening call center waiting for my next move. I know I wanted to do something more with my life, but I just didn’t know what.

I picked up a book entitled Your Road Map for Success: You CAN Get There from Here. The book gave me hope. It provided an opportunity to dream when I had no dreams. It stirred up a belief in me that God hadn’t forgotten about me.

Here are a few quotes from the conference I recorded:

Love where you are right now.

What matters is your potential and who you can become

It’s okay if your first book isnt that great.

Success is uphill all the way.

My best mentors were not people I met, they were books I read.

As I write, I have faith that something’s going to come out of me. As I write, I find out what is inside of me.

A whiner wants to feel good before they do something. A winner says I am going to do something so I feel good.

Resources don’t come to you. You have to go to resources.

When it comes to writing, the book cannot be greater than you – you cannot give what you do not have.

Life done right compounds in a positive way. Life done wrong will compound in a negative way. Life always compounds.

Never hope, more than you work. hope is not a strategy.

Impress people by telling them what they do not already know. Connect with people by telling them what they already know but have yet to apply.

Good ideas are common. What is not common is people who work hard to bring ideas to life.

When opportunity comes, it is too late to prepare.

What I Learned from Michael Hyatt

If you are not a regular reader of Michael Hyatt, I would strongly encourage you to do so. I learn something from everything he writes. I especially enjoyed reading his new book: Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World. I found myself yelling “yes, yes!” throughout the entire book. Even a Facebook Fan of ours commented that what we teach here on this blog closes matches the ideas and philosophies of Michael Hyatt. I totally agree with that.

Here are some quotes from the conference I recorded from Michael Hyatt:

There is a huge amount of noise and that is why you need a Platform.

Content is king, but Platform has become queen.

Build a platform before you need it.

WOW factor – the gap between expectations and experience. Is it a positive or negative gap with your customers?

At some point you just have to ship it. Shipping is what true writers inevitably do.

Start small, but don’t start alone. Enroll the help of other people.

People lose their way, when they lose their why.

The 20 to 1 rule – make about 20 relational deposits to 1 marketing deposit with your followers.

Success is doing alot of the right things consistently over a long time.

Slay your dragons before breakfast so they dont eat your lunch

I realize many of these are random thoughts. They may not even provide as much context for you as they do for me. Still, I would encourage you to capture the quotes above that meant something to you. I have a system in which I capture all of my favorite quotes, ideas, stories, and blog posts in Evernote. I use Evernote for just about everything.

The point I am trying to make is the importance of raising your awareness. Every single day you should be preparing. You prepare by learning, capturing ideas, and taking action. That way when Opportunity shows up it isn’t just luck. We often look at successful people and say “they just got lucky.” Not true. Years of preparation behind the scense just meet opportunity.

Question: Do you have a system for capturing what you are learning? If so, please share in the comments below.