Several years ago, I read a story called “A Thousand Marbles” by Jeffrey Davis, and it left a really strong impression on me. It was about an older gentleman who had placed hundreds of marbles in a jar, each one representing the Saturdays he had left if he lived to his normal life expectancy. It was a reminder to him that his time was limited and that he should make the most of it.
When I read that story, I was in my midsixties, and I was thinking a lot about the next several years of my life. At that time, I had just agreed to start two new businesses, the John Maxwell Company and the John Maxwell Team, and I believed that I should give them everything I had up to the age of seventy.
Having read the marble story, I asked Mark Cole, my CEO, to have a jar filled with marbles, each representing a week of my life until I would turn seventy. I asked him to put the jar in the office at the John Maxwell Company and to remove one each week as a reminder to the staff that my time with them would be limited. Together during that time, we would work on building my legacy. I did this because I wanted to have a good succession plan for the organizations, I didn’t want to outstay my effectiveness, I wanted to transition well, and I wanted my companies to maximize the time they had with me.
I believed that I was doing the right thing. But as time passed, I discovered there was a problem: I wasn’t winding down. I didn’t want to quit. I was enjoying my work more than I ever had. Further, I was experiencing my greatest success, I was receiving more opportunities than at any other time in my life, and my companies were growing fast and starting to reach their potential. I wasn’t sure what to do.
Everything changed when I spent some time with my friend Bill Hybels, senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church. It was at Exchange, a leadership experience put on by the John Maxwell Company every year. We were on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, and Bill and I were chatting. At Exchange the previous year, I had brought the jar of marbles to the event, and during one of my sessions, I had spoken about how I was counting down the time I had left.
Bill had heard a podcast of that talk. As we sat on a sailboat in St. Thomas, Bill stared me down. And as only Bill can, he said, “John, have you lost your marbles?” Bill’s a few years younger than I am, but he was like an older brother scolding me. “You can’t quit! You can’t start counting down. You’ve got way too much to do. You’ve got way too much to give. What is wrong with you?”
It was like a slap in the face.
And it woke me up.
Bill was right. I needed to quit counting marbles. That was scarcity thinking. I’d always approached life with an abundance mind-set. Why was I trying to limit myself? There was nothing in the world I wanted to do more than what I was currently doing. I wanted to pour myself and my energy into making a difference for as long as I was able.
The next year at Exchange in Atlanta, I again asked my staff to bring the jar of marbles to one of my sessions. This time when I spoke I took it, and I dumped the whole jar onto the floor. I declared my intention to keep working, keep adding value to people, and keep making a difference for as long as I had the energy to do so. And in order to do that, I needed to do four things:
• Reengage: It’s difficult to gear up again when you’re geared down. It’s like stepping out of the stands, putting on your old uniform, and getting back into the game. But that was what I needed to do. I had to give more time and attention to my companies.
• Reinvest: If I was going to help my companies, I couldn’t be halfhearted. I had to reinvest emotionally, physically, and financially.
• Reinvent: Yesterday’s success won’t bring success tomorrow. If I wanted to help my companies maximize their capacity, I would have to help them reinvent themselves. We would either improve and try to become the best or we could get out of the business.
• Replenish: I knew I also needed to do a better job of replenishing myself through exercise, better eating, recreation, and rest.
I immediately began to make changes. The result? I had a new surge of energy. And I also learned a lesson: it’s better to manage your energy than to manage your time.
There are many capacities that we can increase, but there’s nothing we can do to expand time. The number of minutes in a day, days in a week, and weeks in a year are set. Even our time here on Earth is fixed. Our days are numbered.
That’s why we need to focus on our energy. That’s something we can influence. In their book The Power of Full Engagement, authors Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz assert, “Energy, not time, is the fundamental currency of high performance.” They go on to explain,
The ultimate measure of our lives is not how much time we spend on the planet, but rather how much energy we invest in the time that we have. The premise of this book—and of the training we do each year with thousands of clients—is simple enough: Performance, health, and happiness are grounded in the skillful management of energy.… The number of hours in a day is fixed, but the quantity and quality of energy available to us is not. It is our most precious resource. The more we take responsibility for the energy we bring to the world, the more empowered and productive we become. The more we blame others or external circumstances, the more negative and compromised our energy is likely to be.1
If we want to get more done and make a greater impact on the world, we need to increase our energy capacity.
A former CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch, put a great emphasis on a candidate’s energy when he hired leaders. He valued stamina over many other qualities, because he believed it was important for leadership sustainability. He also valued a leader’s ability to energize others and motivate a team to be productive.
I appreciate energy. I grew up in a house full of energy. Dad was always working and was often on the road helping others. Mom was industrious in taking care of our home and all of us. My brother Larry worked from the time he was in his early teens. As for me, I was never able to sit still. Too many times my teachers would say, “John never stops talking and he walks around the room while I’m teaching class.” I suspect that every morning when I got out of bed, my parents probably said, “Uh-oh. He’s up.”
Over the years I’ve noticed that people who reach their capacity do not sit back and wait for things to happen to them. They go out and make things happen. That takes energy. It also takes a sense of purpose and focus. How should you focus your energy? For years I’ve taught people the 3 Rs that I use for prioritizing:
Requirement—What I have to do
Return—What I do well
Reward—What I love to do
However, I’ve never related the concepts to energy. Here’s how it works: Doing what rewards you almost always gives you energy. The same is true for doing what gives us a high return. However, for most people, fulfilling requirements is not energizing—unless your requirements line up with return and reward. If you have the power to align all three of those, you’ll always be energized by your work.
How can you do that? You can change jobs. You can talk to your boss and see if what’s required of you can be adjusted. Or you can learn to distinguish between what has to be done for the organization and what only you could do for it.
In my career, I had an energy turnaround when I started to make that distinction. Not everything that had to be done had to be done by me. If something was necessary but I didn’t have to do it personally, I delegated it. If it was unnecessary, I had the power to remove it from my requirements. Maybe you do, too.
Over the years as I’ve gotten more control of my own calendar, I’ve continually worked to align my 3 Rs. The more they have gotten in sync, the more energy I’ve possessed. Today I am required to lead, communicate, and create. That’s it. Because those three things are aligned with my passions and talents, I have an abundance of energy—even at nearly seventy.
Even if you don’t have the power to change what’s required of you on the job, there are still ways to maximize your energy. I want to give you strategies for managing and increasing your energy capacity based on five questions. If you can answer these questions and take action based on your answers, you’ll see your energy rise dramatically.
If you travel a lot, as I do, you spend a lot of time in airports. When I traveled, I used to see people sitting on floors near power outlets so that they could keep their phones and other devices plugged in. But more and more, I see power stations situated among the seats at departure gates. Airports have recognized that people need energy. They want to plug in.
I wish more people were as intentional about plugging in personally as they are about plugging in their phones and laptops. If they were, they’d see new levels of productivity and satisfaction in their lives.
Author and researcher Tom Rath opens his book Are You Fully Charged? with the following words about the impact of energy on our lives:
When you are fully charged, you get more done. You have better interactions. Your mind is sharp, and your body is strong. On days when you are fully charged, you experience high levels of engagement and well-being. This charge carries forward, creating an upward cycle for those you care about.2
Tom goes on in the book to describe the three key conditions required for a person to experience a “full charge” in their day:
• Meaning: Doing something that benefits another person
• Interactions: Creating far more positive than negative moments
• Energy: Making choices that improve your mental and physical health3
Tom Rath’s words stimulated me to ask myself the question, “What fully charges me?” I give you my answers below, because I believe they will stimulate you to think about what charges you up.
Whenever I am leading, creating, or communicating, I’m fully charged. I’m using my best gifts to do the things I really care about. I was created to do those things, and when I do them, I say to myself, “I was born to do this.” What activities make you feel that way?
Few things in life give me greater joy than helping those closest to me experience togetherness; create memories; and learn, grow, and mature as they find themselves. I love sharing these experiences with the people I love. That’s why every year Margaret and I are very intentional about taking our entire family on a trip with us. We grow together, create memories, and become better people—and a better family. What kinds of interactions fill you with energy?
I love people, and every day I look for ways to add value to them. That’s true for team members, clients, and strangers. Helping others fills me with energy and validates my calling. What activities done for others strengthen your sense of purpose and energize you?
I have to confess that I have not always taken good care of myself. For too many years I neglected exercise, proper rest, and healthy eating. However, over the last few years I’ve come to realize that taking care of myself and my health are not selfish acts or time wasted. These are matters of good stewardship. I was put on this earth to help others and use my gifts to make a difference. I won’t be able to do that if my health is shot—or if I’m dead. What can you do to improve your physical health and give you more physical energy?
A friend once told me that “growth is happiness.” I agree. My life has been filled with happiness and energy as I developed people, built companies, enlarged possibilities, and expanded capacities. Nelson Mandela was right: “There is no passion to be found in playing small—in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” What bold endeavor can you embark upon that will energize you?
As I write these words I am looking out at the ocean. On my desk within my view of that vast body of water is a plaque that reads, “O God, thy sea is so great and my boat is so small.” I am a person of faith, so it reminds me of God’s greatness, which not only humbles me, but also helps me to depend on Him. It reminds me of God’s presence within and causes me to want to follow Him and seek His guidance. And it makes me aware of God’s unconditional love for me. All of these thoughts energize me. If you’re a person of faith, how can you better connect with God to be energized by Him?
That’s my list of things that charge me up. What’s on yours? If you don’t know, then take some time to figure it out. That way you can be intentional about becoming fully charged.
Some of us were raised believing that we can accomplish anything as long as we try hard enough. But that’s not true. While I believe our potential is unlimited, I also recognize that we cannot be our best in areas where we have no talent. No matter how hard I try, I cannot become a professional ballet dancer.
Gallup has proven with their studies on disengagement in the workplace that the anything-is-possible myth has led to many people spending years fighting uphill battles by doing what they’re not good at. That’s exhausting. Why spend your life trying to be what you’re not, instead of trying to be more of who you are naturally? Why not figure out what your natural strengths are and develop those for the benefit of yourself and others? It’s the difference between going with the current and swimming against it. The first increases your speed and effectiveness while the second depletes your energy. The first makes you shine. The second makes you have to grind (work through unpleasant situations and tasks to get things done). If you grind away in areas of weakness, you’ll just get worn out. However, if you shine in your strengths but with the strength and tenacity of a grinder, you’ll go far.
Another thing that wears most people down is dealing with change. The gymnast Dan Millman wrote, “The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” Even taking that advice, most people still find change depleting. It takes mental, emotional, and physical energy to create change. And the will and discipline needed to sustain change are resources that are more limited than most people realize.
What depletes you? Do you know? Have you paid attention to what sucks the life out of you? Do you avoid those things? It’s important to recognize what depletes your energy and take action to defend against them.
I discovered the Proximity Principle right after I graduated from college. That June, Margaret and I got married and moved 250 miles away from home. I was ecstatic to start my new life with Margaret, but within a couple of weeks I realized how much energy I had always received from my parents. Both of my parents were energy connectors. My dad’s positive attitude and confidence were contagious, and as a young person, I was energized whenever I was around him. My mom loved me unconditionally and was always ready to listen to me.
In those days there were no cell phones, long distance calls were expensive, and Margaret and I had no money to make those calls. So we had very limited contact with my parents. That was quite an adjustment for me, because my energy level went down dramatically.
Tom Rath says that research shows that proximity matters a lot. He states, “Your well-being is more dramatically affected by the people you see every day, people who live within a few blocks of your house, people who live within a few miles, than it is by distant connections.”4
People are not the only energy pluses we have in our lives. Almost anything can boost your energy as long as it touches you in a positive way. The key is being intentional about keeping those things in proximity to you.
For years I have been intentional about having energy pluses close to me so that I can quickly access them when I need an energy shot. For example, when I’m getting ready to speak and I want a shot of mental energy, I look at my iPhone and read a couple of inspirational quotes. When I need energy to keep writing, I look at the bookshelf in my office that holds the books that have changed my life. It reminds me that what I’m doing is likely to help someone. When my schedule feels heavy and I have a hard time focusing on the big picture, I pull out my folder that contains my written goals for that year. When I’m physically dragging, I go to my exercise room and work out. When I’m feeling down, I call someone in my inner circle.
All these things lift me up, and you need to figure out what lifts you up, too. Look at these categories and see if any of them might be possible energy sources for you:
Music—The songs that lift you
Thoughts—The ideas that speak to you
Experiences—The activities that rejuvenate you
Friends—The people who encourage you
Recreation—The fun events that invigorate you
Soul—The spiritual exercises that strengthen you
Hopes—The dreams that inspire you
Home—The family members who care for you
Giftedness—The talents that activate you
Memories—The recollections that make you smile
Books—The messages that change you
If you find the things that are energy pluses for you, I think you’ll be amazed by how much your energy capacity can increase.
It’s vital to increase your energy as much as possible. It’s also crucial to use the energy you have wisely. Use it when you need it, and conserve it when you don’t. And know the difference between the two.
I learned to ask myself this question when I was eighteen. As a college freshman, I needed a job. My friend Steve Benner suggested we apply at a grocery store to be stock boys. Sounded good to me, so we went to the store and talked to the manager.
“Boys,” he said, “follow me to the back of the store.” He quickly turned and walked briskly to the back of the store. I remember thinking that he sure seemed in a hurry. Steve was on his heels, while it took me a few seconds to catch up with them. At the back of the store, we filled out our applications, shook the manager’s hand, and waited for his call.
The next day Steve found out that he was hired. I got a call, too—saying I wasn’t.
That entire day I couldn’t figure out what happened. How come Steve was accepted and I wasn’t? I wondered. The next day I could stand it no more. I went to the store and asked the manager why he didn’t hire me.
“You didn’t walk fast enough to the back of the store,” he answered. “I’m looking for boys that show energy. Steve did, and you didn’t!”
Wow. I was pretty sure I would have done a better job than Steve, yet he got hired because he hustled. As I walked out to my car, I realized that hustle beats talent when talent doesn’t hustle!
Since then I’ve made it a priority to marshal my energy when I need it, because it’s impossible to be full of energy the entire day. So every day I look at my calendar and determine the times that will be what Jeffrey Gitomer calls “showtime,” the interactions when what you say, do, and think are crucial to your success or that of your business.
My calendar is full tomorrow, but as I review it, I see that I have three showtime events. At 10:00 a.m. I’ll meet with Mike Matheny, the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, and twenty high-capacity leaders in that baseball organization. I need to be at 100 percent as I share leadership principles that will add value to them. At 2:00 p.m. I’ll meet with Mark Cole, the CEO of my five organizations, and we’ll talk about three critical issues, including how to train 50,000 leaders in Guatemala who will teach leadership values to 250,000 people there. And at 6:00 p.m. I’ll meet with Rob Hoskins, president of One Hope, as we prepare to meet with donors and share our vision of training five million kids in leadership over the next five years. Our belief is that these donors will give $30 million to this initiative.
When won’t I need to be at 100 percent tomorrow? When I give blood at the lab at 7:30 a.m., when I have lunch, when I drive to Fort Lauderdale, and when I’m shaking hands at a formal reception in the evening.
You need to know when it’s showtime every day in your life. No matter what hour of the day it occurs or how many of them you have on a particular day, at those times you need to show up and give 100 percent of your energy. That’s the only way you’ll reach your capacity.
Finally, the last question you need to ask yourself to maximize your energy has to do with having margin in your life. By margin, I mean extra time to breathe, think, and make adjustments. Not only does having margin provide space for you to grow; it also gives you the opportunity to recharge.
I have to confess, this is a continual challenge for me. I’m weak when it comes to creating margin. For too many years I have overscheduled myself. The good news is that I am highly productive. The bad news is that I lose opportunities because I have no margin.
For example, this year I missed two opportunities to play at the Augusta National Golf Club because I didn’t have any margin. And I wanted to revise my book Developing the Leader Within You this year, but I couldn’t because I didn’t have margin. But I’m learning. I have already planned to give myself space for opportunities in my schedule next year.
Several years ago I read an article in Harvard Business Review on the management of energy. In it the authors pointed out that people need margin for many aspects of their health and effectiveness. They need time to recover from difficulties and regain their emotional footing. Without that margin, people become negative. They wrote:
Without intermittent recovery, we’re not physiologically capable of sustaining highly positive emotions for long periods. Confronted with relentless demands and unexpected challenges, people tend to slip into negative emotions—the fight-or-flight mode—often multiple times in a day. They become irritable and impatient, or anxious and insecure. Such states of mind drain people’s energy and cause friction in their relationships. Fight-or-flight emotions also make it impossible to think clearly, logically, and reflectively. When executives learn to recognize what kinds of events trigger their negative emotions, they gain greater capacity to take control of their reactions.5
Do you give yourself space in your schedule for the unexpected, and to recover psychologically and emotionally? I still find it hard to do. In The Touch of the Earth, Jean Hersey writes, “It’s extremely important not to have one’s life all blocked out, not to have the days and weeks totally organized. It’s essential to leave gaps and interludes for spontaneous action, for it is often in spontaneity and surprises that we open ourselves to the unlimited opportunities and new areas brought into our lives by chance.”6 Those gaps also allow us to use our energy more wisely.
Fortunately, I am doing better at creating margin in the area of my health. I now have a trainer who keeps me accountable for physical exercise and a doctor who helps me manage my weight. I’m doing better at resting and recovering. I’m working out more, and my strength and energy capacity are good. I’m still learning and trying to grow in this area as well as others, such as my schedule.
How much have you thought about your energy capacity? Have you assumed that your energy capacity is fixed? That you can’t change it? If so, you need to change your mind-set. Start paying close attention to what increases or decreases your energy, and begin making adjustments to what you do. Reduce the energy depleters as much as you can. Tap into things that increase your energy capacity. And manage your energy for the things that matter most to you. Trust me—it will change your life.
1. What are the activities, people, tasks, and places that sap your energy?
2. What are the activities, people, tasks, and places that give you greater energy?
3. In what areas of your life are you not maximizing your energy and the energy of the people around you?