Mark S. Brown

“Every successful person I’ve met has a strong sense of his or her unique ability and aspirations. They’re leaders in their own lives, and they dare to pursue their dreams on their own terms.”, says Maria Bartiromo. Maria is a TV journalist currently with CNBC.

You will never be able to reach your potential if you are doing work you do not enjoy. When you can invest yourself in your passion, minimize distractions, and allow yourself to grow, you can fulfill your destiny.

Each of us are required to do some things that are not our passion. Many things in life are required. Many tasks come with responsibility. To be more successful minimize the time that you take for requirements and maximize your time with your passion.

According to John Maxwell, to change your course you can think in terms of three steps.

1. Awareness: You cannot change without becoming aware that you need to change. What do you need to change?

2. Action: There is no better time to start than right now. What action is required for you to change your focus?

3. Accountability: Become accountable for your goals. Make your goals public. Find a person that can be your accountability partner. Find someone that can help you reach your goals.

Find your passion and then align your actions to reach your potential. John Maxwell said, “People say there are two great days in a person’s life: the day you were born and the day you discover why.” There is no better time to start than right now.

 

I received my copy of John Maxwell’s new book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, yesterday. Last week I wrote about The Law of Intentionality, so this week, let’s move on to law number two, The Law of Awareness.

The Law of Awareness says You Must Know Yourself to Grow Yourself. John tells about three kinds of people in this chapter. The first are people who don’t know what they would like to do (they are usually confused). The second kind of people are those that know what they would like to do, but don’t do it (they are usually frustrated). The third type of people are those that know what they want to do, and they do it (they are usually fulfilled).

In order to know who you are you have to grow. But you have to know yourself to grow. It seems like a circle, but in fact, it is more like an endless path. The more you grow, the more you know about yourself, and the more potential you have to grow.

How do you become more aware of yourself to get started? You must begin to explore what you want to do, learn about your talents and strengths, discover your motives, and get started. When should you do it? Now!

Next week, John Maxwell’s new book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth will be released. John has spoken about personal growth for many years. He has shared his story about how he became aware of the importance of a growth plan from a very early age. John has benefited from his life long journey to grow, and this book contains insight that we can all learn from.

Law one is “The Law of Intentionality, Growth Doesn’t Just Happen”. I have not yet seen the book, but when I get it in my hands next week, I am sure I will recognize this law as the true foundation to growth.

In most of my jobs, I have met people that seem to wait for things to happen to them. They are waiting for assignments. They are waiting to be taught. They are waiting for someone else to go first. They are waiting, because they don’t know how to start.

Here is the one thing I know about growth. Not many people care about your growth as a person, and that your growth should be the most important to you. Only you are responsible for your plan for your growth. Only you can take the actions you need to grow.

Most people underestimate the importance of taking action today, and taking action every day on growing. A little growth every day adds up to a lot of growth over time.

Barbara Sher said, “Imaginary obstacles are insurmountable. Real ones aren’t. But you can’t tell the difference when you have no real information. Fear can create even more imaginary obstacles than ignorance can. That’s why the smallest step away from speculation and into reality can be an amazing relief. The Reality Solution means: Do it before you’re ready.”

There are some people that always seems to start new projects or new activities with a negative spin. I know people that you can put in any situation, with any challenge, and they will always be the first to tell you why something can’t be done. Yet there are other people that always walk into new situations with a smile and a positive attitude.

Why is it so easy to predict which group somebody will be in? Humans being creatures of habit allow their attitude to be controlled by habit. Creating a habit of having a good positive attitude is simply a matter of deciding to do it.

Challenge yourself to stopping thinking of imaginary obstacles. Find the real obstacles to success and put a positive attitude forward in addressing the real obstacles. You will find that each day will be easier.