WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:36.020 Alright. Welcome back to the show, everybody. So I cannot tell you how excited I am to let you know that every week on Thursdays, we are releasing what I believe is the greatest series in the history of any book written on the topic of leadership. You will now get access to either through audio or video on our channel, the 21 irrefutable laws of leadership with John Maxwell himself every single week, each lesson, each law broken down by the master directly through the camera or through your headphones into your life here on the Ed Mylett show. We've structured this journey into three distinct sessions to help you master these principles. Session one is your foundation, 00:00:36.260 --> 00:00:40.820 the internal character required to lead. Session two moves into your influence, 00:00:41.085 --> 00:00:45.325 how you connect and how you build elite teams. And session three is about legacy, 00:00:45.485 --> 00:00:47.885 how you multiply your impact for generations. 00:00:48.285 --> 00:00:53.245 Leadership is a discipline. It's not a title. And in every episode, I'm giving you the rep, 00:00:53.485 --> 00:01:01.140 one clear high stakes action for you to execute that week. To track your progress, we've created a full 21 page leadership workbook. 00:01:01.300 --> 00:01:05.540 Just click the link in the show notes right now to download the entire playbook. It's free. 00:01:05.860 --> 00:01:37.060 Our gift to you. Between each session, John Maxwell and I are hosting q and a sessions to solve your specific leadership struggles. Isn't that incredible? So if you want us to answer your question, here's how you do it. When you click the link to download your free workbook, you'll see a section to submit your leadership question directly to John and I. We're pulling our q and a topics directly from that list. So if you want your situation navigated by John and me, get that workbook and submit your question ASAP. We've never done anything like this on the show. I'm so excited. So I hope you enjoy it, everybody. God bless you. Max out. 00:01:37.875 --> 00:01:53.730 My education on leaderships come from one man, and it's a book, the number one sold book in the history of leadership books, the 21 irrefutable laws of leadership. I everybody's a leader because leadership is in folks. There are 21 irrefutable laws of leadership, but there is one undisputed 00:01:53.730 --> 00:02:02.610 vote of all time on the leadership topic. The 21 irrefutable laws of leadership is a book to help you really become a better leader. 00:02:03.570 --> 00:02:08.875 So leadership is one of the most discussed topics on planet Earth. It's also one of the most misunderstood. 00:02:09.195 --> 00:02:17.515 My education on leaderships come from one man, and it's a book, the number one sold book in the history of leadership books, the 21 irrefutable laws of leadership 00:02:17.595 --> 00:02:28.600 written by the man to my left who also happens to be my hero. We're gonna get in the nitty gritty on leadership here today, everybody, with the number one expert on planet Earth, mister John Maxwell. John, welcome back to the show. 00:02:28.920 --> 00:02:34.920 Ed, I love you, and I always love being with you, and I love when we get to do stuff together. I do too. I do too. You 00:02:35.935 --> 00:02:38.095 are my hero, as everybody knows, 00:02:38.495 --> 00:02:42.735 and my first introduction to you was actually this book. Yes. Did 00:02:43.055 --> 00:02:47.295 you write it to find me, or why did you actually write the book? I wrote it to find myself. 00:02:48.095 --> 00:02:54.270 You know, a lot of times what we write is for ourselves, and then we say, hey. This helped me. Maybe it'll go help someone else. But 00:02:54.750 --> 00:02:56.430 I wrote the 21 irrefutable 00:02:56.670 --> 00:03:00.110 laws of leadership. Interestingly enough, the idea came 00:03:00.430 --> 00:03:04.990 on a golf course. You and I love to play golf. Yeah. I was playing golf with one of my publishers. 00:03:05.550 --> 00:03:09.545 And he said, John, I just finished reading a book on the laws of management. 00:03:10.105 --> 00:03:12.425 And he said it was a it was a terrific book. 00:03:12.745 --> 00:03:16.185 So I said, Victor, I wanna write a book on on the laws of leadership. 00:03:16.505 --> 00:03:18.745 And then I began to ask myself, okay. 00:03:19.225 --> 00:03:24.560 What really makes a law? Because, I mean, you can have a good principle. You can have a good thought on leadership, 00:03:24.880 --> 00:03:27.920 but the this the the word law kinda gives gravitas. 00:03:27.920 --> 00:03:36.995 It's kinda like, this is kinda bigger than a principle. Mhmm. So I, first of all, developed kind of a grid. What what what would be a law of leadership? And I it has to be obviously about leadership, 00:03:37.075 --> 00:03:39.475 but it has to be, for example, timeless. 00:03:39.635 --> 00:03:48.195 If it's truly a law I mean, the law of gravity is it's the law. I mean, it it doesn't come in and go out with time. So it has to be timeless. It has to be able we I have to be able to 00:03:49.140 --> 00:03:57.620 it has to fit in every culture. It has to be fit male and female. It has to fit all of that. And and it has to it has to have 00:03:57.940 --> 00:04:02.445 positive life change in people's lives. So I began to list what these laws were, 00:04:02.845 --> 00:04:04.525 and literally for two years, 00:04:05.245 --> 00:04:24.440 all I did was work with what would be a law of leadership. For two years, and I I started off with about 60. I was gonna ask you. Yeah. And and just kept whittling down whittling down. And then I would talk to people like you, and I'd say, do you think this is truly a law? And sometimes they'd strike it down. So, anyway, I I after a couple years, I got to the 21 irrefutable laws of leadership, 00:04:24.840 --> 00:04:26.280 and so I I wrote the book. 00:04:27.095 --> 00:04:36.855 And then for three years, I went on a book tour with it around the world because it became a bestseller the first week it came out, and it just stayed there on the bestseller list. In fact, the twenty one year of fear of laws of leadership 00:04:37.015 --> 00:04:38.695 sells as many books today 00:04:39.110 --> 00:04:40.550 twenty plus years later, 00:04:40.790 --> 00:04:45.110 as it did the day the book came out. You're kidding me. I it's just it just keeps 00:04:45.270 --> 00:04:51.590 it just keeps on going. I gotta tell you on the show, you know, I probably interviewed 800 oh, going on a thousand people. 00:04:52.175 --> 00:05:13.200 And one of the things people ask me, what do these folks all have in common? And they all of them have something in common, but the vast majority of them have told me they've read this book. In fact, last week, the last podcast that I did was a gentleman who was the president of Tesla for ten years. And as the interview was over in passing, he asked me if I knew you because you're also his hero. 00:05:13.520 --> 00:05:31.765 And I said, yeah. In fact, I do. I consider him one of my great friends. He said, well, the 21 irrefutable laws of leadership changed my life. Yeah. I'm curious. Of all of the laws, is there one that stood out to you? I kinda know this answer, but is there one that stands out more than others, or they all like children? You love them equally. Well, I love them, but, uh, not equally. 00:05:32.930 --> 00:05:35.810 The law of the lid, which is the first one, Ed, 00:05:36.290 --> 00:05:37.570 I put it first, 00:05:38.130 --> 00:05:39.170 and here's why. 00:05:39.970 --> 00:05:45.170 If if a person buys into the law of the lid and I want us to talk about it for a moment. 00:05:45.490 --> 00:05:53.955 If they buy into the law of the lid, they'll buy into the other 20 laws. Okay. That's a fact. And the law of the lid just says how well you lead 00:05:54.275 --> 00:05:57.235 determines how well you succeed. In other words, 00:05:57.715 --> 00:06:01.155 the reason I began teaching on leadership, I was in my twenties, 00:06:01.840 --> 00:06:09.600 and I came to the conclusion that everything rises and falls on leadership. And when I came to that conclusion, I said to myself, if that is true, 00:06:10.080 --> 00:06:13.120 then if I can teach myself, if I can teach other people how to lead well, 00:06:13.755 --> 00:06:25.195 then it'll rise. Well, now we we're we're we're taking that lid, and it's going up. And and if I don't know it well, of course, it it it can fall. So the law of the lid basically just says 00:06:25.515 --> 00:06:34.710 that the most important thing you can do to succeed in life is really learn how to lead. And that's true in business. That's true in government. That's true in ministry. 00:06:35.110 --> 00:06:37.430 The ability to learn how to lead because 00:06:37.830 --> 00:06:49.265 how well I lead not only determines how well I succeed. How well I lead determines how well the people that are on my team succeed. So let's say that between a one and a 10, I'm an average leader. I'm a five. What that means 00:06:49.825 --> 00:06:51.425 is that my organization 00:06:51.665 --> 00:06:55.345 will come up to my lid of leadership, and it'll be a probably a four, 00:06:56.030 --> 00:07:00.030 but it cannot be a six or seven. Because in the history of mankind, 00:07:00.030 --> 00:07:01.310 no organization 00:07:01.630 --> 00:07:04.270 has risen higher than the leadership lid 00:07:04.270 --> 00:07:06.670 of those who lead it. It just doesn't happen. 00:07:07.070 --> 00:07:12.595 Now here's the good news. You can grow as a leader. And when I wrote the 21 irrefutable laws of leadership, 00:07:12.835 --> 00:07:29.000 I'd already written the book developing the leader within you Mhmm. Which basically says in fact, Ed, that was the first book written that said you can develop yourself as a leader. Up until that time, two things are very significant. One is people thought leaders were kinda born. Secondly 00:07:29.240 --> 00:07:32.680 is if you go back because I wrote that in the late nineteen nineties. 00:07:33.160 --> 00:07:34.440 If you go back, 00:07:34.680 --> 00:07:38.440 there were no leadership books in bookshores. Wow. They were management books. 00:07:38.915 --> 00:07:44.195 Great point. I mean, Peter Drucker, he was a management guru, and you met but what happened, Ed, was, 00:07:44.515 --> 00:07:45.075 um, 00:07:45.635 --> 00:07:47.475 you can't manage speed. 00:07:48.035 --> 00:07:50.995 And so by the late by the mid nineteen nineties, 00:07:51.420 --> 00:08:10.265 things were happening so fast that you couldn't manage them anymore. And somebody says, we gotta get ahead of them, and that's what leaders do. They see more and before. And so, therefore, all of a sudden, leadership began to be the thing. And so I said, you can develop yourself as a leader. And then in developing yourself as a leader, I began with the lid saying to yourself, if you have a five, 00:08:10.825 --> 00:08:13.625 you can learn leadership skills. You can go to a six. 00:08:14.665 --> 00:08:36.945 With a lot of time working on your skills, you can get to a seven. Now every every time I raise my leadership lid, guess what I do? Now I raise the room of potential for all the people on my team. So so so when you raise your lid, you raise the lid of everybody around you. And so, therefore, the law of the lid just I just said, if people can understand it and they can really learn it and they can embrace it and they can do it, 00:08:37.425 --> 00:08:42.545 they're not only gonna help increase their ability and and the people's ability, but also one more thing, Ed. 00:08:43.105 --> 00:08:46.785 When I raise my lid for if I'm a five as a leader, guess who I attract? 00:08:47.290 --> 00:08:50.330 Fours, threes, twos, and ones. Great point. 00:08:51.210 --> 00:09:07.745 In the history of mankind, there's never been a person that is a nine and say I wanna follow a five. Very good. And so, therefore, every time I raise my leadership lead, I also raise the quality, the type of person I attract because in the 21 laws, the law of magnetism is we attract who we are, 00:09:08.385 --> 00:09:15.330 not who we want. Very good. And so I've had people all the time. They'll say they'll say, well, I I would like to have people that, you know, hardworking, 00:09:15.330 --> 00:09:24.610 great attitude, you know, teachable, and I'm taking my little list. When it's done, I look up and say, now are you hardworking? Are you teachable? Because if you have those qualities, 00:09:24.770 --> 00:09:47.280 people will migrate to you. If you don't have those qualities, they won't. So that law of LID helps us draw better people. It helps us it helps us improve our leadership. It's just the it's kind of like the essential law that if you get it, then now you say, I wanna learn all the other 20. Yes. Because now they're gonna help me. What all the other 20? Why they do? They help me my list. So I gotta tell you, when we started this podcast, 00:09:47.520 --> 00:10:03.255 we were totally lost. We had no idea what we were doing. You know, starting a new business could be intimidating, and we didn't know how to do anything. We didn't know how to do move merch, how to post online, how to write copyright, how to do anything. I recommend you do what I've done and what millions of other business has done and then use the tool of Shopify. 00:10:04.855 --> 00:10:10.695 Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world. About 10% of all ecommerce 00:10:10.695 --> 00:10:28.695 Shopify is involved with. That is staggering. I can tell you getting started with your own design studio with them is a game changer. They've got hundreds of ready to use templates. Shopify helps you build a beautiful online store. It'll match your look and feel and your style. So start your business today with the industry's best business partner, Shopify, and start hearing 00:10:30.215 --> 00:10:35.575 Sign up for a $1 per month trial today at shopify.com/mylette. 00:10:35.575 --> 00:10:37.975 Go to shopify.com/mylette. 00:10:37.975 --> 00:10:41.710 That's shopify.com/mylette. 00:10:43.310 --> 00:10:57.395 So good. Let me ask you one more question about this. Because for me, obviously, you know the impact of your work, and the fact that this is gonna be on the channel on a regular basis where people getting access to these laws is just mind blowing to me. But one of the other things that you've done for me, 00:10:58.195 --> 00:11:07.635 you've changed the definition for me of what a leader is or looks like, meaning this. And I think a lot of people feel this way. I'd like you to speak to it. I think they think they're not a leader. 00:11:08.280 --> 00:11:24.575 I think when they picture a leader, they're picturing someone who's the CEO of a company only. Position. Right? It's a position, or they're the head coach of the Dallas cowboys. Now that's a leader. But me, I'm not a leader. Right? They're thinking that about themselves. Of course. Who how do you know if you are one? You know, when I started off, 00:11:24.815 --> 00:11:29.375 I knew that if I was gonna talk about leadership, I was gonna have to define what I think it is. So 00:11:29.855 --> 00:11:31.935 after much time, a lot of time, 00:11:32.415 --> 00:11:36.095 I came up with a conclusion that leadership is influence. Nothing 00:11:36.255 --> 00:11:36.895 more, 00:11:37.295 --> 00:11:38.015 nothing less. 00:11:38.620 --> 00:12:01.065 Your ability to influence people. In fact, I love that proverb. It says, he that thinketh he leadeth and hath no one following him is only taking a walk. And I there are no kind of people taking walks. In fact, I wrote a book called the three sixty degree leader that helps a person know that you can lead from the middle of the pack. You can lead up. You can lead beside. You can lead others. And the moment that we understand that leadership is influenced, then all of a sudden, 00:12:01.705 --> 00:12:02.985 mom at home 00:12:03.385 --> 00:12:12.330 says, wait a minute. I'm I'm a leader. I I have influence with my family. I've got influence with my children. And the reason I wanted everybody to understand that is 00:12:12.650 --> 00:12:14.170 in our own world, 00:12:14.410 --> 00:12:15.850 to our own degree, 00:12:15.930 --> 00:12:16.570 Ed, 00:12:17.290 --> 00:12:33.225 we always influence people. The moment I feel that I can influence people Mhmm. Now it gives a gravitas for me to learn how to do it. Mhmm. And so let's get rid of the leader titles and all that, and let's just say, look. Where you are, what you're doing right now matters. 00:12:33.850 --> 00:12:37.930 So now learn to use influence in a positive way to help people 00:12:38.250 --> 00:12:47.815 where you are right now, and you'll begin to add value to them. And once you add value to people, then I'm I promise you, they'll follow you. That's so good. You 00:12:48.455 --> 00:12:54.535 if someone's watching this week by week, would there be some advice you would give them if they they 00:12:54.615 --> 00:13:20.985 watch one of the laws or listen to one of the laws? Is there something that you would recommend they do as they're doing that weekly? Some sort of daily practice? Of course. You of course, you know as well as I do, Ed. If you don't practice it, it doesn't happen. I mean, uh, action is in fact, I had somebody there. They said, now what's the best action to take? And I said, any action. Would you just get going in the game? Because you and I know that it's the action that allows us to learn. 00:13:21.545 --> 00:13:33.840 When I start moving, I find out a lot about myself. Yeah. I find out a lot about my journey, what I'm doing. So what I tell the people is, in fact, another one of the 21 irrefutable laws of leadership is the law of process 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:36.240 that says leaders develop daily, 00:13:36.960 --> 00:13:38.800 not in a day. So 00:13:39.040 --> 00:13:40.800 as you're watching this weekly, 00:13:41.315 --> 00:13:47.555 understand it's a process. Okay? And take one at a time and practice them. 00:13:47.955 --> 00:13:51.075 If you practice them, you'll learn. And understand this. 00:13:53.280 --> 00:13:56.320 The ability and the willingness to take action 00:13:56.720 --> 00:14:00.000 will give you what you need to know that you don't know now. 00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:08.160 The big mistake people have is they say, as soon as I figure it out, I'll do it. And I look at them and said, no. No. No. You have to do it to figure it out. 00:14:08.885 --> 00:14:14.325 And so I would take each law, and I would practice them and take it slowly and understand. 00:14:14.645 --> 00:14:16.405 In few months, 00:14:16.645 --> 00:14:22.325 I can promise you, you're going to be a better leader than you are right now, and that's okay. By the way, 00:14:23.170 --> 00:14:24.530 I'm 79. 00:14:24.930 --> 00:14:30.050 I'm still growing every day. Mhmm. I'm still practicing every day. I'm still learning every day. 00:14:30.530 --> 00:14:36.210 And once you begin to learn the process of growth, you develop leadership growth capacity. 00:14:37.105 --> 00:14:44.465 And now you have the ability to learn more quicker and in greater degrees because you've increased your capacity. 00:14:44.705 --> 00:14:47.265 So start now, start slow, 00:14:47.985 --> 00:14:48.785 but go. 00:14:49.025 --> 00:14:50.225 Mhmm. Trust me. 00:14:50.960 --> 00:15:01.360 You'll begin to see growth in your life. You'll find out sooner or later that you'll not go to the next level. You'll start to grow to the next level. So good. Everybody, 00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:17.880 there I just feel so blessed that we're doing this. Yeah. I'm so blessed that you're in my life. I'm blessed that can't believe I love you. I can't believe we're doing this on the channel Yeah. Get that they're getting access to this. It's like this is like a dream come true for me. There are 21 irrefutable laws of leadership, but there is one undisputed 00:15:18.360 --> 00:15:31.080 goat of all time on the leadership topic. Yeah. And that is this man to my left. And so thank you so much Thank you. John Maxwell for being a part of the show. It's my joy. I love you, man. I love you too. Enjoy everybody. God bless you. Max out.