What is your plan for personal growth?

What are you doing today that will ensure a better tomorrow?

Why are you going to be better off 2 years from now? 5 years from now? 10 years from now?

I have heard it said that the difference between who you are now and the person you will be 10 years from now is the books you read and the people you meet.  I would like to add to that list…and the opportunities you surround yourself with.  Just this last week I had the opportunity to speak at the “Personal Leadership Day” with the Morgan County Leadership Academy.  The Academy is a 10 month program for leaders in the community to learn more about Morgan county and the behind the scenes of all areas of the community.  You spend one day a month together learning from speakers and field trips about various ideas such as…The Education System, Social Services, Government, Transportation, Leadership, Local Economy, Public Services, History, and so much more.  I had the opportunity to graduate from the academy in the 2010 class.  It is a phenomenal opportunity to be involved in.  So last Thursday I was one of the guest speakers along with Dr. Al Long (professor & author), and Jim Taylor (senior pastor of Grace Church).  In the class we talked much about the importance of growing as a leader.  If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.  Growth is not automatic in life.  Just because you exist does not mean you are growing.  You have to intentionally feed yourself a healthy dose of personal growth.  What you put into life is what you get out of it.  If you don’t deposit into your growth account, you won’t be able to make withdrawls from it.  The only way to build our skill, knowledge, and strengths is to deposit everyday into them.  If you think that just time will make you better than you are going to end up the same person you are today 10 years from now.  Time does not magically make us better.  People have said that experience makes you better but that is NOT true.  Only learned experience makes you better.  If you do not learn from your experiences your no better off than you were before.  You are destined to repeat your experiences until you “get it”.  Just because you get older does not necessarily mean you are better off.  Yes, you may experience more, but unless you evaluate your experiences and learn from them they are just experiences, nothing more nothing less.  So what is your plan to grow? What are you doing each day to INVEST into your life? Are you budgeting your time wisely and spending it on things that are investments into your future? Or are you wasting your precious time away? Who you will be tomorrow is determined by what you do today.  So let me give you the 3 things that I do in order to grow.

1. READ

Books are one of the greatest sources of knowledge.  If you can learn to be a reader you can change the course of your life.  As followers of Christ the word of God is the most important thing we can read.  It gives us ALL the answers we are looking for.  Also, reading books about your area of growth is so important.  Pick books that will help grow your skills, knowledge, and passion.  The more you read the more you will soar.  Books have the power to help carry us into a better future.  I have 3 areas of books that I read everything there is to read on. I also highly suggest to take a course if you are not into reading as much, the plural sight review has helped me out finding the right courses for myself and I assure you it will help you as well

1. Leadership – Anything that has to do with becoming a better leader and more productive person, I consume.  These are the John Maxwell type books, business books, visionary and strategic type books.  I currently just finished books like…48 Days to The Work You Love, The 5 Levels of Leadership, Tribes, Made To Stick, Entreleadership.

2. Christian Living – I read books that will challenge me to know God more and more.  I usually pick books that spark my interest and then dig deep into them.  Books about faith, worship, the character of God, etc… I just finished reading…In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day, The Circle Maker, Erasing Hell, and The Christian Atheist.

3. Creative Books – These are my skill type books.  They range from books about writing songs and music, books on how to write books and become a better author, books on art and painting.  I read books about organization and thinking skills.  Just finished…Steal Like An Artist, Writing Better Lyrics, The Productive Writer, Writers on Writing, Organize Your Mind…Organize Your Life, Songwriting The Craft, and Brainsteering.

So READ, READ, READ if you want to grow!!! There are some institution who offers scholarships for low gpa to those people who wants to study.

2. LISTEN

Listening to those that can speak into your life is a huge skill.  You need to have mentors and coaches that are teaching you how to be better.  Make sure you are listening to those that can invest into your life.  Remember you have just as much responsibility to listen as the communicator has to speak.  This whole non-sense of I am just not getting fed at church is ridiculous.  I understand if you are not connecting with it over the long haul, but come on, God can speak to you through anyone.  He used donkeys, rocks and all kinds of strange things in the Bible, I am sure He can use whoever it is you are listening to.  You have to have your antenna up and be willing to open your heart to the wisdom you are receiving.  Make sure you surround yourself with people and situations you can learn from.  And don’t just hear it go in one ear and out the other, LISTEN by engaging yourself.

3. ASK QUESTIONS

Are you asking questions to learn from experiences? Are you pursuing God by asking questions about the Bible and processing God’s word? Be someone who ask more questions than you answer.  Don’t be a know-it-all kind of person.  There is nothing worse than when someone acts as if they know everything there is to know and has no more room to learn something new.  John Wooden said, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” Be a question asker.  Right down questions, think about questions, then ask the questions to the right people.  I am going to a conference in June about book writing and have the opportunity to sit in on a Q & A with John Maxwell.  You better believe I am already thinking through and writing down the questions I want to ask.  I am going to be requesting a lunch meeting with a leader who has made a huge impact in the leadership community near southern Indiana and I am going to be doing one thing while we eat…ASK QUESTIONS about leadership.  The Bible says a fool always talks but a wise man listens.  God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason…to listen twice as much as we talk.  When you experience things in life, ask questions to yourself so you can learn and grow from it.

So what is your plan to grow? If you are not operating in these 3 areas than I am not sure if there is any other way you will grow.  Come up with a plan and stick to it.  If you want to become better than you better start becoming a growth seeker.