John C. Maxwell - No Limits: Blow the CAP Off Your Capacity

Know thyself.

S OCRATES

I think self-knowledge is the rarest trait in a human being.

E LIZABETH E DWARDS

Im passionate about this book because Im passionate about you! For fifty years Ive worked to improve my life and to help improve the lives of others. Nothing brings me greater joy than helping others grow and get better. Ive written this book specifically to lift you up and to help you increase your capacity.

How did I come to write this book? The idea came to me while I was enjoying one of my favorite things: great conversation over a meal with friends. While we were talking, one friend began to express the importance of potential and how people could reach it. It led to a great discussion that lasted two hours. As we got ready to get up from the table, somebody said, Ive never read a book about capacity and how to reach it. Nobody else had either.

That conversation really stimulated me. And it stayed with me for two years. After revisiting the topic of capacity in my mind repeatedly, I began asking questions, listening to others, and learning about it. Eventually that led me to create the Capacity Challenge:

The Capacity Challenge

If you grow in yourawareness, develop yourabilities, and make the rightchoices, you can reach your capacity.

In other words,

AWARENESS + ABILITY + CHOICES = CAPACITY

That is the challenge Im presenting to you in this book. If youre willing to accept it and follow the process I outline, your life will change!

The Capacity Challenge begins with awareness. Becoming aware was the first big step I took in blowing the cap off my capacity. And it happened early in my career. The model for pastors in those days was that of a shepherd who cared for the sheep. It was about maintaining and caring for the flock. It included doing a lot of counseling. So that was the model I thought I was supposed to follow.

But then I read a book titled Americas Fastest Growing Churches by Elmer Towns. It was about reaching more people and leading a church with excellence. I couldnt put that book down. The stories were so inspiring.

After reading it, I wanted to visit every church in the book and meet their pastors. But how could I do this? These pastors didnt know me. And why would they take time to meet with me?

Then I got an idea. I would contact them and offer to pay them $100 for thirty minutes of their time. That was in 1971, when I made only $4,200 in an entire year. But I was desperate to find out what made these pastors become so successful. I was overjoyed when two of the ten pastors said yes to my request.

As soon as I knew I would get to meet with these leaders, I began writing down the questions I would ask them. I came up with a lot. Five pages full! Anticipation filled me as I sat down with these leaders and asked them questions as fast as I could. Obviously I didnt get through all the questions I had written down, but I did have a breakthrough in my personal and professional lives. My greatest discovery was that these pastors spent no time on counseling people. Instead, they spent all of their time