Every year, my team and I attend the leadership summit. This year, there is a shadow hanging over the summit as I outlined here, but I’m still trusting that it will have some incredibly helpful content, just like in past years. To capture what I’m learning and to help you grow as a leader, I always share my notes from each session, so be sure to check back after each session and bookmark them for future use.

The final session of the first day featured a talk from one of my favorite speakers, John Maxwell. His book on leadership was the first book I ever read as a leader at 18 and thought, I can do this. He outlined how to maximize your impact as a high-character leader in our world today. It was fun having my two oldest kids in this session with me and have some excellent discussions.

The following are some takeaways:

1. All leaders see more than others see and before others see.
2. If you can see the bigger picture, you are the leader, but now you have to see before others see.
3. The key to leadership is starting first.
4. Leaders have to ask how I do increase my more and before?
5. Know that there is more “more and before” out there (think abundance). 
6. Creativity and flexibility are crucial in leadership today.
7. Creative people believe there is always an answer.
8. Flexibility says there’s usually more than one answer.
9. Develop a process for finding more “more and more before.”
10. The way you find more is to test.
11. Test -> Fail -> Learn -> Improve.
12. When you know what you want for your future, your mind will begin to think things that will help you get what you need; your heart will feel things that you need, your attitude will help you to believe.
13. Put yourself in places with people who will inspire you to see more “more and more before.”
14. Get people out of your life that drag you down.
15. Be around people who inspire you.
16. Intentionally grow every day so you will have the capacity for more “more and more before.”
17. The only way to guarantee that tomorrow will be better is that you grow.
18. If you’re still excited about what you did 5 years ago, you aren’t growing.
19. Always have a vision gap that requires you to need more “more and more before.”
20. You will fill the vision gap by asking God to send you the right people.
21. You will fill the vision gap by asking God to do for you what you cannot do for yourself.