Hello! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season. Our Christmas was very merry. We gathered as a family to thank God for the birth of His Son and express our love for each other. My mother’s absence from this earth was on our minds, but with every smile from our grandbabies, we glimpsed the heart of Mom. We know we’ll see her again.
It’s been awhile since my last post, so let me catch you up a bit:
- As you read this, I’m probably in Shanghai, China. For the second time in 12 months, I’m teaching leadership here (January 10-21). I’m feeling amazingly blessed with this opportunity, and I hope to truly add value to everyone I meet.
- You might remember that I had knee surgery in early December. Well, I’m pleased to say that my recovery has been swift. Physical therapy has gone well, and my knee now feels BETTER THAN normal. Thank you for your encouragement and prayers.
- Do I need to remind you of my upcoming book? If you’ve been reading here for awhile, probably not. But if you’re new and want to see how a book was taken to a new level by a blog’s community of readers , this post will fill you in.
Everyone Communicates, Few Connect will be published and on bookshelves on March 30th of this year. And this is what everyone who picks up the book will see:
- EVERY commenter, whether their comment made it into the book or not, listed in the Acknowledgements as a valued contributor.
- SEVENTY + contributors quoted by name within the book (with their names also cited in the End Notes).
- 200+ photos INSIDE the book or on the cover. (We used as many as possible in the graphic on the dust jacket, and will display ALL on the end papers inside the front and back covers.)
What the average reader won’t see: the incalculable value that was added to the entire book by your participation. It won’t be obvious that we reordered an entire chapter when you said it was unclear. Most readers will never know how many errors you caught. They won’t see the stories we removed in favor of better stories from YOUR lives.
But I’ll know. And I want YOU to know, again, how grateful I am for your help. THANK YOU for not only communicating, but connecting.
21 responses so far ↓
1 Mary // Jan 12, 2010 at 4:44 pm
Blessings to you John! May God richly bless your time in China. And as for the next book, I absolutely love the title, it sounds like a book that will challenge all who read it to grow into better ‘connectors.’ Guarenteed that I will be one of the first to devour it!!!
2 Judy Montgomery // Jan 12, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Have a safe and wonderful trip to Shanghai. Can’t wait to get the book! Thank you for your positive contribution to the world.
3 Doug Nunnally // Jan 12, 2010 at 5:55 pm
Really enjoyed and learned from your past three weeks sermons at Christ Fellowship. Thanks for sharing “Stupid Hurts” with us plus the 2 part series on “Failing Forward”. I know you will be great as you stated last week that you learned to listen to God and follow his lead. His message and your delivery style, China doesn’t have a chance but to grow. Safe and fun trip!
4 virginia. // Jan 12, 2010 at 8:44 pm
How much we grow as we listen to know and then realize we know nothing.
Bless you on this trip. Hope to see your next series whatever it is. Everyone loves to hear and learn with you, John you are fun at sharing.
5 Yvonne Green // Jan 12, 2010 at 10:12 pm
Thank you John for taking the time to allow me to sit at your feet. I’m still in process and you have taken the time to give me so many nuggets. One just as important as the other. The wait is the hard part cause it was one of my dreams to help preview a book. The blog I currently have originated began because of my favorite page of the book. Its dedicated to God, Jesus, and the Holy-Spirit after many attempts to write a book proposal needless to say the stories ended up on the blog. Praying for you & Margaret while in Shanghai — knowing that God opened the door. Thank you for pouring so much into me.
6 lovely // Jan 12, 2010 at 10:34 pm
your welcome!
7 Cathy Welch // Jan 12, 2010 at 11:09 pm
Glad to hear your recovery is going well. As one of the 70+ included in your new book, I want to thank you for sharing the story I shared and praise God that it will be part of the help you are sharing with the world. Take Care and Safe Travels, Cathy Welch
8 Ukpoju Andrew // Jan 12, 2010 at 11:54 pm
No doubt John, you’ve been an inspiration to me through the Equip team’s Million Leaders’ Mandate, and many others. Looking forward to your new book and may all in china be richly blessed by your ministration.
9 Ukpoju Andrew // Jan 12, 2010 at 11:55 pm
Thank God for Divine recovery! No doubt John, you’ve been an inspiration to me through the Equip team’s Million Leaders’ Mandate, and many others. Looking forward to your new book and may all in china be richly blessed by your ministration.
10 uberVU - social comments // Jan 13, 2010 at 1:45 am
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by ViMad: RT @johncmaxwell: Greetings from Shanghai! New blog post: http://bit.ly/7oDn0g...
11 shalini // Jan 13, 2010 at 6:40 am
Thank you John for such a great blog post. It’s such a delight to read or hear something from you all the time. The reason is simple is the attitude of gratitude that you show always. Reading and listening to you pumps in new life every time. All the best for your China trip, I believe someday we will see you and hear you in India also.
Thanks
12 Cheryl Lohner // Jan 13, 2010 at 7:46 am
So happy to hear you are doing well John. I thought involving your readers in writing your latest book was brilliant! Never assume you know what your readers want – just ask. You walk the talk my man. All the best to you -
13 Tim Lynch // Jan 13, 2010 at 10:45 am
It was wonderful to see you at Christmas Uncle John. You are such an upbeat and inspirational individual. Even in the midst of your recovery and the associated discomfort, you are always positive, energetic and ready with a smile for everyone…especially for kids running around jumping and screaming. You ARE the genuine article of inspiration. Enjoy your trip to China, I’m sure you’ll be uplifting to a lot of people there just like to are to those of us at home.
14 Vera Archilla // Jan 13, 2010 at 11:25 am
Dear John, I’m glad to know that your recovery was swift!
Thank you for sending the chapters of your next book to us. It was a pleasure to read!
I hope that it comes in Portuguese as soon as possible.
God bless you.
15 Nicholas Yannacopoulos // Jan 13, 2010 at 2:31 pm
Dear John,
May this new year be full of health, happiness and prosperity for you and your loved ones. Let us hope that this “difficult” year will be the new beggining of a better world. A world of integrity, love and peace. A world where there will be space for all God’s children. May you be well and strong and active as you have been all these years. The world needs more Maxwells to become a better place to live in. Thank you and God bless you.
Your faithfull “student” from Greece
16 Mary Ballard // Jan 13, 2010 at 4:25 pm
Hi John,
Thank you for all that you do. You are such an inspiration to so many lives.
Sincerely,
Toby
17 Carol Shannon // Jan 14, 2010 at 12:50 am
Thank you John you are such an inspiration, I’ve listened to several of your In Joy Ministry tapes as well. God has given you a wonderful gift of Christ centered inspiration.
18 Tommy Wilson // Jan 17, 2010 at 2:32 am
Thanks John. Your notes on leadership are invaluable
19 Elizabeth Ampong // Jan 18, 2010 at 3:44 pm
found your blog about a month ago through Joyce Meyer’s Newsletter. i’ve been visiting your blog almost every day since then and been reading any of your articles i can lay my hands on. My life has completely turned around within this short period. you are truly “the leaders’ leader”. God richly bless you and keep making you a blessing.
20 Barb Giglio // Jan 25, 2010 at 6:21 am
Glad all went well and is well! Looking forward to March and sharing this book with everyone. It really was a great experience for me and I am very thankful I got to participate. God bless you and your family for a great 2010!
Barb
21 Henry Samayoa // Jan 26, 2010 at 9:51 am
John, que bendicion saber que ya estas mejor de tu rodilla y de tus conferencias por China, la verdad que todos tus libros han sido de mucha bendicion, inspiracion y reto para seguir adelante en mi diario caminar, he leido todos tus libros y me motivan y conectan a seguir y exsplicar a otros de lo aprendido, aunque no me conoces, yo a ti si eres mi mentor desde que me regalaron tu primer libro me fascino estoy a la espera de este ultimo para comermelo y luego compartirlo con muchos mas. Dios te bendiga eres un ejemplo de liderazgo a seguir Dios te proteja y guie un abrazo fuerte, Hata luego mi mentor preferido