John C. Maxwell Came to Coffee with Kelly!

You might say Saturday, May 22, 2021 was one of the more special moments in my lifetime. It was on this day that I had the honor and great pleasure of interviewing my leadership mentor, Dr. John C. Maxwell live on my show Coffee with Kelly.

It was a scenario that I had visualized and anticipated in many ways for nearly 7 years. Ever since the day we first met over a private lunch, I had always wanted another chance to sit down with John again in a one-on-one format to share with him how he has impacted my life since that initial meeting. Finally, that day had arrived.

As I drove to John’s recording studio, I reflected on all the lessons he taught me over the years that helped me not only be a better leader, but a better human.

My Coffee with Kelly show featuring John was scheduled as a private event via ZOOM. I wanted to provide his special interview as a gift of sorts to my dedicated “Coffee with Kelly Tribe” in return for all their support during the past year. It was because of this dynamic group of people, coming together from all over the world, that made my show what it is today. They believed in me from the beginning of my reinvention process. On that special Saturday, we hosted 140 attendees who eagerly logged into the broadcast at 9 a.m. sharp to hear John’s teachings and wisdom.

I will never forget that feeling I had inside when I opened the studio doors that morning. It was just before 8:15 a.m. when I met with the production crew to make sure they had all they needed from me to go live at 9 a.m. with John. It felt like I was walking onto a real talk show set with the lights above me and all the cameras set up around the stage. It took my breath away when I saw the image of Coffee with Kelly on the set that would be used as the backdrop for this show. I thought to myself, “how did I even get here?”

When the show began, I remember looking out into the audience on the screen in front of us and felt the rush of excitement that everyone was there to share in this special moment to have THE John C. Maxwell inspire them through his words for an entire hour – all to ourselves.

Our conversation ranged from talking about his most famous quote, “Everything Rises and Falls on Leadership” to sharing why he was so passionate about his latest book Change Your World.

I shared with John how Coffee with Kelly started small with only six people back in March of 2020 and today we have a tribe of over 400 “Inspirational Baristas” around the world who come together every Monday and Friday on Zoom from 8 - 9a.m. EST. Our get togethers are a special time where we encourage each other as we start the week and celebrate each other as we end the week.

And of course, if you know me well you know I always want to have some FUN and I was even able to get some dancing live out of John for a few laughs (John do not quit your day job).

What I was most grateful for was that it was the moment I had to finally tell John live, face-to-face, how much he has impacted my life and what he did for me almost seven years ago by valuing me and believing in me. Life is short and I never want to have any regrets where I missed telling people that I love how they made a difference in my life. For me, this was what was most important to me to say to him.

In return, John was able to share several powerful lessons during my Coffee with Kelly hour and I would love to pass them along to you to help you in your journey:

1) Start Small: Begin with what you have, do not wait for what you do not have. When Coffee with Kelly was born last year, I had 6 attendees show up. Of course, I would have liked to have 100 there to start, but I needed to build momentum. I could have easily held back and marketed the event for weeks to build a following. Instead, I kept showing up and adding value to people twice a week and they kept inviting more people. As John told us, “Consistency Compounds” and when you start small and are consistent in adding value to people it can expand in return. The vision expands as we move – not as we think. Coffee with Kelly started with 6 and now we have 400 in the tribe.

2) Start with Strengths: Extraordinarily successful people find their strengths and commit to developing their potential in that sweet spot within their life. Go with your greatest assets; don't waste your time focusing on developing your weaknesses.

3) Self-Help is Not Enough: It is impossible to reach your potential with only self-help. You need other perspectives to help you see your blind spots. We need other people to come around us to help us become aware of those blind spots. It begins with self-help, but it does not end there.

Those are just 3 take-aways from my interview with Dr. John C. Maxwell, but I captured over 20 such messages in total from watching the replay and would love to share it with you here.

Being able to interview the person who changed my life (and many, many other lives) was an incredibly special moment to me. Perhaps even more powerful was being able to share it with all the beautiful people who have been by my side in my reinvention was what made it even more special.

I leave you with this thought that John shared with me 7 years ago:

“Once you have tasted significance, you will never need success again.”

Let that sink in for a moment.

Love & Coffee,
Kelly