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What’s your growth plan for 2013?

If you are reading this, you are probably already aware that growth doesn’t just happen – it’s intentional.

Knowing that, what’s your growth plan for this year? What do you want to learn? What do you want to know more about? What new skill would you like to develop? What new experience do you want to have?

These are all important questions to ask yourself. More important are the answers. Even more important is how will you address them? What is your plan for achieving those things you long for?

What is your plan for achieving those things you long for?

Remember, hope is not a strategy!

Making a resolution is not a strategy!

If you are serious about achieving your goals – and have experienced any kind of success in your life previously – you know that you must have a plan, and you must take specific action steps, and you must reflect on your process, and then make adjustments along your journey.

I have a plan; here it is:

  • I will spend no less than 2 hours weekly working my way through the amazing curriculum offered by the John Maxwell Team University (leadership philosophy, coaching, marketing and sales, business building, and so much more).
  • I will participate in a minimum of 4 hours of the mentorship calls each week (this is a resource I am still amazed to have access to through JMT). 
  • I will facilitate a minimum of 6 Mastermind Groups covering a variety of topics of growth, leadership and personal development, and how to reach higher levels of performance in whatever you choose to do.
  • I will spend a full week learning with the John Maxwell Team in February. Nothing like full immersion learning with ~500 others who share my passion!
  • I will intentionally teach someone something new at least 5 days a week; after all, teaching is the best way to really internalize something you are learning.
  • I will research and complete at least one other seminar, program or workshop – topic yet to be determined.
  • I will work with a professional performance coach, whose sole focus is supporting my success in whatever I strive to achieve.
  • I will learn from my coaching clients and Mastermind participants.
  • I will read at least 30 minutes every day.

Here’s my reading list (as I know it right this moment – I tend to fit a lot of other material in as I discover it!):

  • Think and Grow Rich
  • Put Your Dream to the Test
  • Off Balance
  • Failing Forward
  • 5 Levels of Leadership
  • Smart Trust
  • Crucial Conversations
  • Outliers
  • One Small Barking Dog
  • The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive
  • Go for Gold
  • Leadership Gold
  • Credibility
  • Platform
  • Standout
  • The Advantage
  • Thinkertoys

I will re-read:

  • Today Matters
  • The Rhythm of Life
  • The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (at least twice!)
  • The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth (at least twice!)
  • The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
  • The Three Signs of a Miserable Job

And as I read, I will make notes, I will file deep thoughts, I will deliberately note the things I will Apply, Change, and Teach (ACT tool). Based on experience, I know these books will lead me to other books and materials, so I will follow the bread crumbs as they appear.

Of course, I know where I desire to grow, but I also know that along the way opportunities and needs to grow in unanticipated areas and ways will emerge in my life. And while I know I will find myself in some uncomfortable places, I will do my best to welcome the discomfort because I know it means I’m on the right path – to growth, to a better version of myself, to greater fulfillment.

So what’s your plan? How will you achieve it? How will you hold yourself accountable to your commitments? How will you respond when you encounter the enormous boulder in your path – will you allow it to derail you, or will you take a deep breath, consider the situation, reaffirm your desire, and access the creative genius in you that will show you the way through?

How will you respond when you encounter the enormous boulder in your path – will you allow it to derail you, or will you take a deep breath, consider the situation, reaffirm your desire, and access the creative genius in you that will show you the way through?

Here’s a hint: If you don’t schedule it, it won’t happen! If you are truly committed, focused, and driven, you will block out the time, plan your work and work your plan.

I welcome your calls if you need a coach to help you on your journey, and I look forward to hearing your stories…

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hope is not a strategy…make a plan!

Last night I was doing a little shopping. As I was making one of my purchases, the sales person asked me where I was from. I responded that while I live in West Virginia now, I am from Washington State. Unexpectedly, his eyes lit up and he asked where I had lived, claiming his dream was to move to Seattle…someday.

Make a plan, I said. Hope is not a strategy. Make a plan.

Do you have a dream? Do you have a goal you want to achieve…someday? What are you doing to make it your reality?

Here’s the thing…if you don’t make a plan, your plan, life has a way of making one for you. Or rather, life happens and it doesn’t always lead you where you want to go. People in your life will guide you in the directions they want you to go, which may be fun, interesting, adventurous even, but maybe not where you want to go.

How do you take control? It’s simple, really, but maybe not easy!

Make taking time out for reflection a priority, every day. Take the time to think about what you want from life, then map out a plan to achieve it. Then, of course, you must take the steps required to actually put your plan into action and start moving toward your dream.

You don’t have to see your whole dream in every detail, but if you can see enough of it to see the first couple of steps with clarity, it’s time to get moving. Don’t worry that you can’t see every step or whether you have all the resources you think you need to get there…just get started.

Do it afraid!

It’s amazing what will happen once you start. If you are truly passionate about what you’re doing, committed to making it happen, and tell people about your journey, you will be amazed at the people who step up to support you. You will get what you need along the way — whether it’s people, knowledge, a new skill, or any number of other kinds of resources.

But if you do nothing but hope, you will wake up one morning some years down the road and ask yourself, “How did I get here?” noting that where you ended up is not where you wanted to be. (Yes, Kyle from the Mac Store, this is for you! I will be watching for my postcard from your new home in Seattle.)

As my mentor, Paul Martinelli, says, “Do the thing, and you will get the energy to do the thing.”

Hope is not a strategy. Make a plan. The best day to get started is today.

What is your dream? What are you doing to make it your reality?

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