Is an integral part of the John C. Maxwell Certification Program, providing top leadership curriculum, designed to give today’s young people practical tools and ideas to help them navigate life.
Purpose
To benefit the world by inspiring and equipping young people to lead themselves and others with character, mutual respect and integrity.
Did you know...?

YouthMAX is Focused on Four Key Topics
Stand Up & Be Counted: Stop Bullying
Learn positive attitudes and actions that will help stop bullying and lift others up.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statistics, 28% of U.S. students in grades 6-12 experience bullying, and 20% of U.S. students in grades 9-12 experience bullying. Approximately 30% of young people admit to bullying others in surveys.
Bullying doesn’t benefit anyone – not even the bully. It lowers and demeans the bully – who is strong enough to be a force for good – and it harms the victim who feels powerless and ashamed.
John Maxwell’s lesson Stand Up & Be Counted teaches three ways to deal with bullying in a positive, affirming way:
Stand Up – Be confident in your own value
Lift Up – Use your influence to help others
Pick Up – Help others who are being bullied by picking them up.


Learning To Fail Forward to Success
Learn powerful, proven ways to turn failure into success.
Many of us fear failure. This fear can stop us from trying something new or challenging. But if you think about it, you’ll realize that anything you are good at now, you once could not do well or at all. We all fail. The question is “What did I learn?”
Anyone pursuing a goal of value will make mistakes and wrong decisions. So the key is to expect failure, to prepare for it, to be ready to turn it into a lesson and a stepping-stone to success. There is such a thing as a successful failure.
John Maxwell’s lesson, Learning to Fail Forward to Success teaches that failure is the foundation for all success. Understand how to learn from failure, change and grow toward success.
THE PROBLEM:
“99% of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.” – George Washington Carver.
“Many people can learn from their mistakes if they weren’t so busy denying them.” -J. Harold Smith
Excuse-makers risk being seen as deceptive, self-absorbed, and ineffectual. They are viewed as unreliable social participants with flawed character.
Lower the frustration level. Students’ seeming “bad attitudes” may be primarily due to their not being able to do the work. (Bacon 1990). A high level of student frustration contributes significantly to negative behaviors.
Developing a Positive Self Image
Understand and apply key ways to develop and maintain a positive self image.
Most successful people have a positive self-image. While some of that attitude comes from succeeding, it is impossible to even begin moving toward success unless you believe in yourself enough go after your goals and dreams while learning to fail forward.
John Maxwell’s lesson, Developing a Positive Self-Image teaches both the value of confidence and practical ways to develop and maintain a positive self-image.
Self-esteem affects teens in many ways. Self-esteem not only refers to how you feel about yourself, but how you think others feel about you. Do you think they like you? Do you feel valued by others? There are different factors that go into self-esteem. Low self-esteem can lead to destructive behavior, depression, and even suicide. It is important to recognize that teens need to have a positive and healthy self-esteem.
Why is self esteem so important?
- Self-esteem relates to emotional stress and mental issues
- Having good self-esteem correlates with success later in life—mainly because good grades and confidence can allow a teen to start out with scholarships and other opportunities
- It relates to choices; low self-esteem can result in poor behavior, emotional issues, and suicide.


Developing a Strong Personal Character
Learn what it takes to develop a strong and effective character.
Nothing is more personal than character – the set of values and actions that define who you are and who you want to become. Character decisions are the single most important factor that drives you to success or to failure. When you learn to make strong character choices and manage daily decisions in alignment with your values, you can begin moving toward your goals and dreams with confidence.
John Maxwell’s lesson, Developing a Strong Personal Character teaches how to choose positive daily decisions that will help you align your actions with your values and learn to achieve lasting personal success.
Personal Character
In a recent study of 40,000 American high school students:
- 89% of students believe that being a good person is more important than being rich.
- Almost 1 in 3 boys and 1 in 4 girls admitted to stealing from a store within the past year.
- 21% admitted to stealing from a parent or other relative
- 18% admitted to stealing from a friend
- 2 in 5 students say they lie to save money (48% of males, 25% of females)
- A majority of students, 59% admitted to cheating on a test during the last year, with 34% doing it more than twice.
- 1 in 3 admitted to using the internet to plagiarize an assignment
Are you ready to be a catalyst for change?
Bullying, failure, low self-image and poor character decisions are at the heart of many of the challenges facing young people in today’s changing world. John Maxwell, Nick Vujicic and the John Maxwell Team have decided to do something about it.
Enjoy "A Minute with Maxwell"
