“Today Matters” Part XIV – Book Review
Book Review 14 – Today Matters by John Maxwell
Growth: I will seek and experience improvements daily, because my growth gives me potential
“To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life”
Misconceptions about growth
-They think growth is automatic. The problem starts when we stop growing physically and we get out of school. We expect our bodies to take care of themselves as they did the first 20yrs of our lives. And we think our minds will take care of themselves too, even though we no longer have anyone pushing us to improve.
The truth is, if we don’t take responsibility for our growth, it won’t happen. Growth is not automatic.
-They think growth comes from information. The greatest obstacle to growth is not ignorance. It’s illusion of knowledge. Life change is the proper measure of whether information makes a difference.
-They think growth comes with experience. “When an archer misses the mark he turns and looks for the fault within himself. Failure to hit the bullseye is never the fault of the target. To improve your aim, improve yourself. Life change is the proper measure of whether information makes a difference
Why growth matters today
“Hell begins on that day when God grant us a clear vision of all that we might have achieved, of all the gifts we wasted, of all that we might have done that we did not do”
Gifting without growth leads to ineffectiveness. If you have a gift, a talent, and you draw on your talent but never add to it or sharpen it, you’re headed for trouble, because nobody is that talented.
Growth prevents personal and professional stagnation. How do most people deal with stagnation? They make external changes. They look for a different job, leave their spouse, or give up exercising. The better solution is to pursue internal changes
Your personal growth impacts your organization’s growth. No matter what work you do or where you do it, your greatest challenge is you. In order to do more, you’ve got to be more.
Only through continuous improvement can you reach your potential
Managing the decision to seek and experience growth daily
Decide that “I will develop and follow a personal growth plan for my life”
Answer the question: What is my potential? I saw a story about a St Louis doctor who met a young man in high school who had lost his hand. When the doctor asked about his handicap, the teenager responded, “I don’t have a handicap, sir. I just don’t have a right hand.” The greatest handicap a person has is not realizing his potential
Make a commitment to change. To make something out of yourself, you need to be willing to change, for without change, there can be no growth
Set growth goals. Peter Drucker once said “The great mystery isn’t that people do things badly but that they occasionally do a few things well. The only thing that is universal is incompetence. Strength is always specific. Nobody ever commented, for example, that the great violinist Jascha Heifetz probably couldn’t play the trumpet very well.” Identify your strengths and grow in areas that will add value to you personally and professionally
Learn to enjoy the journey. If the destination appeals to you, but you cannot enjoy the journey it takes to get there, you would be wise to reexamine your priorities to make sure you have them right
Put yourself in a growth environment. Put yourself in a position that stimulates growth
Managing the discipline of growth
Decide that “Every day I will grow on purpose with my plan.” One of the results of learning is that you realize how far you still need to go, and the more we learn, the hungrier we were for more growth
Make it your goal to grow in some way every day. “If a person will spend one hour a day on the same subject for five years, that person will be an expert on that subject”
Have a time and plan to grow. Make your growth intentional, strategic, effective by planning it well.
- Listen to audio books/podcasts
- Read good books
- Set appointments every month to learn from others
As you plan your strategy for growth and set aside time for it, don’t forget that the more you grow, the more specific the growth should be to your needs and strengths
File what you learn. Not only this habit yields a harvest of material for your future use, it will also keep you more focused, force you to evaluate what you’re reading, and help you to bypass the junk and go for the good stuff that will help you grow
Apply what you learn. “Up is not an easy direction. It defies gravity, both cultural and magnetic.” The final test of learning is always application. If what you’re learning can be used in some way to help and improve you or others, then it is worth the effort.
The greatest of all insights is that we cannot be tomorrow what we do not do today