Archives For Growth

Multiplying Your Growth

September 15, 2012 — Leave a comment

The concept of multiplication isn’t new, especially in the world of leadership. While it may not happen as often as it should, most leaders understand that unless they move beyond the addition of workers to the multiplication of leaders, they will never maximize their potential, or the potential of the organization, ministry, or department they lead.

The same principle holds true with personal growth. You can grow yourself and even impact others, but multiplication is an entirely different level. In the same way a rock tossed in a pond creates a series of ripples, the Multiplying Level of personal growth initiates an enduring process of personal growth ripples. Those ripples form when you help somebody grow, and then they turn around and invest in the growth of others. At this level, personal growth revolutions spread and even have the potential to go viral.

My grandmother—Violet Morley—recently passed away at the age of 92. She wasn’t popular or famous or rich. You won’t find her name in the history books of earth. But you can be sure that her name is remembered in the halls of eternity. She was a deeply spiritual woman with an unwavering commitment to prayer.

I’m convinced that Grandma’s name was known in heaven and in hell—heaven because she spoke to Jesus daily, and hell because she fought the enemy fearlessly. She once told me, “We have to do many different things, but prayer is the main thing.”

On the day that she died, my mom told me that grandma’s life was like a ripple—an enduring set of prayer ripples. Those ripples were felt in countless lives as one friend and family member after another surrendered their lives to Christ. At her funeral, letters were read and messages were shared by people who grandma “prayed into the Kingdom.” On three separate occasions, those in attendance stood to their feet in applause of this tiny, insignificant lady who had a Mount Everest sized prayer life.

When I reflect on her prayer journey, I realize that she didn’t take the journey alone. She mentored others in prayer, and she passed her prayer habit on to future generations. Prayer was more than a personal habit. It was a multiplied habit. She might have been a little lady, but she grew and multiplied a contagious prayer life…in her, around her, and beyond her.

A great biblical example of the highest level of growth is found in the book of 1 Thessalonians. Paul, Silas, and Timothy express gratefulness in their letter to the church in the city of Thessalonica. After an initial greeting, they write:

For we know, brothers loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. (1 Thessalonians 1:4-8)

I want you to see the personal growth ripples in this passage. It started with Paul, Silas, and Timothy when they said, “You know how we lived among you for your sake.” They began by living their growth. What they learned and thought transformed how they lived. Out of the overflow of personal transformation, they intentionally impacted the Thessalonians—“You became imitators of us and of the Lord…”

But the growth didn’t stop there. Multiplication kicked in: “And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere.”

What the Thessalonians received from Paul, Silas, and Timothy’s growth was more than an inspiring model that impacted how they lived. They were empowered to multiply that transforming work in the people around them. These men didn’t keep their growth a secret. Nor did the Thessalonians let the growth ripple end with them. They chose to invest in the believers in Macedonia and Achaia who then, invested in people “everywhere.” That’s exponential growth. That’s the power of multiplication. Paul, Silas, and Timothy’s personal growth started a growth revolution in people they never even met.

Question: What would have to happen for you to begin multiplying your growth through others?

This post was adapted from my book, GO! Starting a Personal Growth Revolution. You can order a copy in my store here or on Amazon or Kindle. GO! is also available from Barnes & Noble. For bulk orders, email me here.
In Leadership, Personal Growth Growth, Leadership, leadership development, Lifelong Learning, Multiplication, Personal Growth, Prayer
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How to Inspire Growth in Others

September 14, 2012 — Leave a comment

One of the most powerful, yet most underestimated, ways to inspire growth in others is through equipping relationships. Equipping relationships are any kind of growth-focused relationship such as coaching, mentoring, discipling, or small groups. These relationships help people close their growth gaps by equipping them with the knowledge and skills they need to maximize their potential. In the same way that equipping relationships were likely an essential part of your personal growth, you can also be an equipper for others.

Take coaching for example. Before you completely check out and dismiss yourself as “non-coach material” let me explain.

A coach is someone who provides assessment, insight, and motivation.

Now think about those three things as they relate to one of your close friendships. Have you ever helped a friend gain perspective by asking them a few clarity-boosting questions—questions that helped them cut through the fog surrounding their situation and think more clearly? If so, you’ve provided assessment.

After listening and helping them gain some perspective, did you ask your friend a few more questions that helped them come up with a solution to their problem or even led to an “aha” moment in their life? If so, then you’ve stimulated insight. And when things got tough for your friend, did you come along side them with an encouraging word that affirmed your belief in them? If so, then you’ve provided motivation. Essentially, you took A.I.M. at their potential and carried out the three functions of a coach: Assessment, Insight, and Motivation.

So why couldn’t you do that same thing for people around you who want to grow and need your help? That doesn’t mean you’re the “expert” life coach with the answers to all of life’s problems. I like to coach people, but I’ll also readily admit in which areas I have no business coaching people. I have the greatest coaching equity in my areas of strength…and so do you. Look for two or three areas in your life where you have passion and where you’ve honed your skills and acquired valuable experience. Then ask yourself, “How can I use this mix of strengths as a springboard to equip—or invest in—somebody else?”

When you’re intentional about growing yourself and building trust with people, opportunities will emerge to equip others. It might be over lunch with a co-worker, in an annual review with an employee, in a small group with other Christ followers, or through a meaningful connection with your children. In a world where growth-focused encouragement is a rare commodity, most people are more than willing to receive some extra confidence-building support from somebody who cares.

As you gain experience, why not make the role of an equipper part of your own growth plan. Identify a book or two that will help you understand how to invest in people or equip them to succeed. You might even participate in a leadership workshop, or if you’re really aggressive, look for a coaching certification program. Then, as you ratchet up your skills, seek out more intensive equipping relationship. For example:

  • Employees – Meet once a month with a new employee to discuss sticking points, help them get adjusted, or to coach them in their new role.
  • Volunteers – Meet with a volunteer (in the church or community) to help them refine their skills, learn their role, or assume greater responsibility.
  • New Followers of Christ – Meet a new believer once a week for prayer, Bible study, and accountability.
  • Students – Mentor a student in a new skill or help a college senior put together a resume.
  • Small Groups – Form a small group and focus on personal growth in a shared area of interest.

Entrepreneur and author Regi Campbell took the opportunity seriously to inspire growth in others. As a young Christian, Regi and his wife volunteered to lead a singles ministry in their church. It grew rapidly, and before long Regi was consumed with meetings as he invested in single men who were looking for practical advice. Feeling exhausted and wearing himself ragged, Regi heard Tim Elmore, an author and speaker committed to investing in young leaders, make this statement: “More time with fewer people equals greater kingdom impact.” That phrase started a journey for Regi that culminated in what he calls Next Generation Mentoring.

Since 2000, Regi has strategically invited a group of eight young business executives to join him at his home for a mentoring experience. The group meets once per month for twelve months and is committed to reading books, sharing their takeaways, memorizing Scriptures, praying together, and holding one another accountable. His mentoring process isn’t rocket science. It’s simply a clear strategy Regi has developed to leverage his personal growth to impact younger leaders.

In 2009, Regi published his ideas in a book titled, Mentor Like Jesus. He records the names of each of his mentees in his book and then he makes this observation:

In the past eight years, I’ve intentionally mentored sixty-four guys. Most report that they have a deeper, more meaningful walk with Jesus than they did before the next generation mentoring experience. They are disciples…learners and followers of Jesus. To my knowledge none have fallen away. All are still married. All are involved in a church. All are attempting to raise their kids in the faith. And from what I can tell, they are, to varying degrees, walking with God. (Mentor Like Jesus, 2009, p. 12)

These sixty-four men have grown as a result of Regi’s influence. He simply took his knowledge in the areas where he has grown the most, and intentionally invested it into a group of guys whom he was best equipped to help. He saw their potential, understood their needs, and knew what kind of deposit he could withdraw and invest into their lives. As a result, he’s helped start a personal growth revolution in 64 men.

You can do the same thing Regi did. Maybe it won’t be a mentoring group, but you can take the areas where you’ve grown the most and use them to impact somebody else. Each one of us has influence—even if only with a small handful of people. You might influence your family, a small group of friends, or even an entire division in your company. The question isn’t “how many” but “how intentionally.” How intentionally are you helping others grow? Are you using your influence to deliberately unlock peoples’ potential? When you do, you’ll experience the power of the Impacting Level.

Question: What step can you take to begin inspiring growth in others this week?

This post was adapted from my book, GO! Starting a Personal Growth Revolution. You can order a copy in my store here or on Amazon or Kindle. GO! is also available from Barnes & Noble. For bulk orders, email me here.

 

In Personal Growth Coaching, Equipping, Growth, Learning, Lifelong Learning, Mentoring, Personal Growth
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How to Turn Personal Application into Personal Transformation

September 13, 2012 — Leave a comment

Your life is the result of your “inside decisions.” Inside decisions define your habits—whether good or bad. What happens on the inside manifests itself by your habits on the outside. In Colossians 1:9, the Apostle Paul writes,

“…we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”

This verse reveals a natural progression in the growth process: It begins first with knowledge, then moves toward spiritual wisdom and understanding.

The word Paul used for knowledge is epignōsis (eh-PIG-noh-sis). Author and professor Dr. William Yount (1996) describes epignōsis as “a knowledge that reaches out and grasps its object and is in turn grasped by its object.” What you learn becomes more than knowledge—it changes how you live. You grasp the knowledge, and the knowledge grasps you. It forms a new habit. Yount further observes,

“Epignōsis moves beyond mere head knowledge to what we might call ‘heart’ knowledge: a knowledge that affects the way we live. To be filled with the epignōsis of His will means to take hold of God’s Word, and allow God’s Word to take hold of us.” 

As this knowledge becomes understanding, it finds application—what Jesus calls “wisdom.” He says in Matthew 7:24, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (emphasis mine). Learning allows you to gain knowledge. Thinking allows you to understand that knowledge. Living is where you finally see it translated into wisdom—through application.

When you decide to apply what you’ve been learning, you walk right into new habits. You begin actually doing what you’ve been learning and thinking about. You leap from possibles to actuals. A debate rages inside you at the Thinking Level of personal growth? The Living Level silences it once and for all. The rubber meets the road. You’re committed. President John F. Kennedy once said:

“There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.”

You just passed the last exit for comfortable inaction. The risks of action are straight ahead.

When you adopt a new habit, there is evidence of a transformed life. Everything’s actually happening. You’re doing more than accumulating knowledge; now you’re applying its lessons to your everyday life. The things you decide aren’t just idealistic; they’re realistic. You’re practicing, implementing, and completely applying. Your knowing has become your growing. You’re no longer pointing to how you want to grow; now you’re pointing to the evidence that you are growing. Your learning feeds new habits (habits of the head, hands, and heart), which demonstrate a transformed life.

Personal transformation is difficult. Human beings resist change, and the process of forming new habits isn’t easy. And while we work hard to form new habits of the head (how we think) and new habits of the hands (what we do), changing habits of the heart is entirely different.

Your heart represents the very core of who you are, which is why it’s the hardest thing to change in your life. The best way—in fact, the only way—to reach true, honest, heart transformation is to allow the Spirit of Christ to do the transforming. If you try to just “do” the right behaviors without God’s Spirit changing you on the inside, you’ll find yourself with little more than two legalistic lists: Do’s and Don’ts. Don’t do that to yourself.

Your Work (the discipline) x God’s Work (the transformation) = Exponential Life Change

The writer of Hebrews chastised the Hebrew Christians for being “slow to learn.” (Hebrews 5:11) He wasn’t criticizing their mental abilities. It was their spiritual laziness that was the problem. They were resisting the path to maturity by staying on “milk” instead of moving up to “solid food.” Hebrews 5:14 says, “But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” To get that maturity, you have to fully trust Christ and practice personal application through disciplined intentionality.

Notice that both “constant use” and “training yourself” are required. In fact, Jesus said,

“If you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards” (Matthew 7:26–27, MSG).

Did you catch that? You have to “work” God’s word into your life. New habits don’t form by themselves. Learning without applying what you have learned is just plain laziness. Lazy Learning = Lukewarm Living.

We must do what we can do (the discipline), and let God do what only He can do (the transformation). The Apostle Paul described God’s transforming work when he challenged the church at Ephesus to abandon their old way of life, inviting them instead to “take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.”

What an amazing picture. Take a moment to imagine what it might look like for God to “reproduce his character in you.” No matter how much you have your act together, you’ll never be able to take the place of God. Reproducing His character inside of us is God’s job, not yours or mine. Our job is simply to trust Him and cooperate with His Spirit.

If you consider yourself a follower of Christ, but you’re not willing to allow Him to transform you, then you’re what Craig Groeschel calls a “Christian atheist”: you believe in God, but you live as if He doesn’t exist. And if you’ve never surrendered your heart to Christ, are you willing to take that step? Are you willing to say “yes” to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit when He comes to live inside of you? A fully devoted “yes” to Christ’s transforming work will turn your personal growth efforts into a powerful makeover of the soul.

Question: What needs to happen to move beyond good intentions and actually see transformation take place in your life?

This post was adapted from my book, GO! Starting a Personal Growth Revolution. You can order a copy in my store here or on Amazon or Kindle. GO! is also available from Barnes & Noble. For bulk orders, email me here.

 

In Personal Growth Application, Growth, Learning, Lifelong Learning, Personal Growth, Transformation
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Change Your Thinking with the “Thinking Seesaw”

September 12, 2012 — Leave a comment

The formation of beliefs and assumptions is a lot like a seesaw—you might have called it a teeter-totter as a kid. When you and your buddy sat on a teeter-totter, you would soar into the air as your feet launched you upward, and then, just as quickly, sink downward as your friend’s feet left the ground. While the up and down motion felt exhilarating, and perhaps even unsettling at times, your confidence was grounded in one thing—the base at the center of the seesaw. No matter how quickly you pushed up and how hard you came down, you knew the base wasn’t going anywhere. It was your anchor.

In personal growth, thinking is the mental teeter-totter at work. On one end of the seesaw are ideas, on the other end are practices, and in the middle—serving as the base—are absolutes.

 

Thinking Seesaw

Ideas are insights for living. They can fill your mind rapidly as you read great books, hear inspiring speeches, explore creative environments, or interact with wise mentors. As you activate a personal growth plan, there’s a good chance your mind will be saturated by fresh ideas in the areas of your life where you’ve chosen to grow. Some of these ideas will be proven, but others will be more like theories waiting to be tested as a practice.

Practices are strategies for achieving. If you’ve been around business for any length of time, you’ve probably heard the phrase, “best practices.” Best practices are those methods of doing business that are considered to deliver the best results. They are usually proven strategies for achieving the highest levels of success. There are also “best practices” in other areas of life too—spiritually, mentally, relationally and physically. And as you engage in lifelong learning, you’ll likely uncover some of these best practices in the areas where you’ve chosen to grow.

Ideas and practices freely move up and down on each side of the thinking seesaw. Your mental feet leave the ground as you learn new ideas and experiment with new practices. This flexibility keeps false assumptions and misinformed beliefs from becoming entrenched in your thinking. Eventually you’re able to settle on ideas and practices that actually work and leverage them to help you close your growth gaps.

I was working with a team of leaders a while back when we decided to evaluate the effectiveness of our small group ministry. We spent six weeks meeting together to take a hard look at our strengths and weaknesses, as well as ways to improve. This process allowed us to bring our ministry assumptions under the microscope. The mental teeter-totter was aggressively moving up and down as we examined fresh ideas and best practices.

At first it almost felt like chaos, unsure where things were going to land. The longer we sat on the thinking seesaw, the more exciting ideas we collected—several of which were untested—and the more we observed powerful best practices. But eventually we settled on a handful of ideas and practices—a refined model—that increased the health of our small groups. None of that would have been possible had we not been willing to challenge our assumptions and get comfortable with letting our feet leave the ground.

Are there areas of your life where you’ve abandoned the seesaw? Why not get on the teeter-totter once again as you put your growth plans to work. After all, what’s the point of crafting a growth plan if you’re not willing to challenge your long-held assumptions? Don’t be scared of the up and down motion—it’s necessary, even indispensable, if you want to gravitate toward the ideas and practices that will actually help you grow. This process is unsettling at times, which is why you need the security of your seesaw’s base—absolutes.

While ideas and practices are key components to challenging assumptions and forming beliefs, it’s important to remember that they are not absolutes. Absolutes are anchors of belief. Absolutes are the base of the seesaw. They are fixed—immovable. Absolutes are non-negotiable truth that does not change regardless of time, culture, or geography. In fact, absolute truth originates outside of yourself. Whether or not you believe absolutes does not change the fact that they’re still true. Absolutes don’t need your or my permission to be the truth—they stand as truth just fine regardless of our opinion. Absolutes are fully trustworthy and apply to everybody. They serve as the litmus test before embracing new beliefs, engaging new practices, or deeming a new idea as worthy of pursuit.

As human beings, we tend to drift toward the path of least resistance. If we’re not careful, we’ll adopt ideas and practices that are culturally acceptable, yet violate absolute truth. As you field-test ideas and practices, absolute truth keeps you grounded and helps you avoid the dangerous lure of deception. For this reason, I’ve adopted Original Truth—the Bible—as my source for absolute truth.

What is the base, the immovable absolutes, of your thinking seesaw? Without a rock-solid base, your ideas (those insights for living) and your practices (those strategies for achieving) will do more than keep you culturally relevant, they will ever so slowly mislead you.

When absolutes are firmly established as the base for your thinking, you can easily challenge your assumptions and beliefs. You can bring the ideas and practices—those things you’re gleaning in your learning journey—into the light where you can examine their validity. And you can climb onto the thinking seesaw—grounded in absolute truth—where you can continually explore fresh ideas and best practices.

Embracing absolutes does not mean you’ll live a sinless life. I believe Scripture is absolute truth, but I struggle every day to live that truth. I’m far from perfect. I sin. It’s a daily battle. But having a firm base to anchor my life and thinking to keeps me calibrated in the right direction. Without the base, my life would be nothing more than a soupy mess of misguided philosophies. Even the Apostle Paul said, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ” (Colossians 2:8).

At the Thinking Level of personal growth, beliefs are challenged and formed by learning new ideas and embracing best practices while allowing absolutes to serve as the final authority. Keep these three things in perspective.

Question: Are you leveraging the thinking seesaw to keep your mind fresh and your life relevant. What is the base of your thinking seesaw?

This post was adapted from my book, GO! Starting a Personal Growth Revolution. You can order a copy in my store here or on Amazon or Kindle. GO! is also available from Barnes & Noble. For bulk orders, email me here.

 

In Personal Growth Attitude, Growth, Ideas, Learning, Personal Growth, Practices, Thinking, Truth
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Becoming a Lifelong Learning

September 11, 2012 — Leave a comment

When I was in high school I made the wrong choice—I only learned when I had to, and just enough to get by. The only thing I went out of my way to learn was shortcuts. I didn’t cheat, but I also didn’t apply myself. I was typically content with Bs and Cs (even the occasional D or F). I rarely put in the time or effort to do better. One reason was that I hated reading. It didn’t matter what kind of reading—novel, history book, short story—reading was not my thing. Unlike my wife, who grew up with a steady diet of books, I restricted my reading to TV Guide. Reading drained me. And most of what I read was boring.

College could have opened my eyes to reading, but no way I was going to let that happen. Throughout most of college, I only cracked half of my textbooks. (Nothing like spending dad’s money to buy books you never read.) It wasn’t that I couldn’t read—I just didn’t like to. Turns out, I wasn’t alone. Only 45% of Americans over the age of 13 read a book in the course of a year.

After graduating college with all the answers, it took me a couple of years to realize just how little I actually knew. In fact, those first two years of ministry were…how should I say this?…an experiment in stupidity. I alienated people, made dumb decisions, had a negative attitude, and was extremely naïve. Once my pastor tried to buy me a book on attitude. Ironically, I was offended. As if all those things weren’t enough, I once burned a hole in a church pew with a flash pot gone bad—less than 12 months after we had just remodeled the auditorium. Forrest Gump’s famous words encapsulated my life: “Stupid is as stupid does.”

When I finally realized how well prepared I was for irrelevance, that newfound humility forced me into a learning mode. I had come face-to-face with my growth gaps, and humility was the only road to change.

In the years that followed—mostly out of necessity—I developed a habit of reading. At first it was slow and inconsistent. I’d pick up a book here or there and occasionally read a magazine article. I can still remember reading John Maxwell’s early leadership book, Developing the Leader Within You, and thinking, “This is the best leadership book I’ve ever read.” Suddenly it occurred to me: “This is the only leadership book I’ve ever read.”

But that book, along with others, was a spark that ignited personal growth in my professional life. A subtle, but powerful, revolution had begun. I made a decision to grow. I took to heart the words of Mark Twain: “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.” And I discovered a simple truth—with every page I read, my appetite for personal growth grew.

Today I’m an avid reader, but more importantly, I’m a lifelong learner. I made a decision to let my missional potential drive my learning, and then I followed that decision with one baby growth step after another. What about you? Would the people who know you well describe you with the phrase “lifelong learner”? If not, that can change. But you have to make a decision to grow.

As simple as it sounds, many people never make that decision. It won’t happen if you just wait for life and your circumstances to demand that you grow—like I did when I started in ministry. Mediocrity is tempting, because it’s easy to just take a seat in someone else’s ride and let your potential lie dormant inside of you. But if you choose to cruise through life in the passenger seat, learning only when you have to, then your growth won’t be on your terms. To truly grow into your potential, you have to decide to pick out your own car and head out onto the open road. That’s where the action is.

The true test of whether your decision sticks will be the behavior that follows it. But you won’t start until you first make a clear-cut, uncompromised decision. Revolutions start with “Go!” Your life today is the sum total of all your decisions. That means that your decision about personal growth today will greatly determine your life tomorrow.

Don’t take this decision lightly. And once you’ve made it, you’ll still have to manage it daily. Growth is a posture, not just a phase you go through. A phase lasts for a season and then it’s over. But a posture is an attitude. Your decision to grow is more than a single act of growth—it’s a frame of mind and a lifestyle of continual improvement.

So, let me ask you one more time—have you made that choice? Have you decided to become a lifelong learner, to set aside the “easy” life of mediocrity and grow to your full missional potential? If you haven’t, stop right now and make your choice. Don’t just flirt with the decision—marry it!

Question: Have you made the decision to be a lifelong learner?

This post was adapted from my book, GO! Starting a Personal Growth Revolution. You can order a copy in my store here or on Amazon or Kindle. GO! is also available from Barnes & Noble. For bulk orders, email me here.

In Personal Growth Growth, Learning, Lifelong Learning, Personal Growth
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The Role of Humility in Personal Growth

September 10, 2012 — 1 Comment

All personal growth requires humility. Without humility, pride takes the wheel and aims for the ditch. History is littered with the pages of brilliant and talented men and women who were ultimately destroyed by their own pride.

Humility reveals our humanity. Let that idea really take hold in your mind. Humility reveals your humanity by keeping your failures and your successes in proper perspective to each other. Humility makes you teachable, a constant reminder of how much you need lifelong learning.

Abraham Lincoln, an avid reader and voracious learner, understood the importance of humility. When some editors were preparing a directory of congressmen, they asked Lincoln to submit his biography. He humbly wrote, “Education defective.” He was keenly aware that even though he had closed many of his personal growth gaps, humility was still the key to all future learning.

When we lack humility, our pride builds our knowledge into monuments of our own greatness. Although we can’t see it at the time, those monuments are actually barriers and roadblocks to our future learning. Humility, on the other hand, is like the gatekeeper to growth—and its gates are always open. If we begin to value what we’ve already learned over what we have yet to learn, those gates slam shut, sealed tight with the padlock of pride. Your current knowledge cannot be the permanent watermark for your future. Past learning does not guarantee future growth.

In the Beatitudes, Jesus was crystal clear about the importance of humility. Matthew 5 begins, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”(Matthew 5:3) Professor and author Bruce Winston (2002) observes:

“‘Poor in spirit’ is a state of being opposite of ‘rich in pride.’”

Winston says that we should not view ourselves as a full cup—something that cannot receive more—but rather as an empty cup, always willing to learn more from others. Humility reminds us just how empty our cup really is. Humility helps us remember that what filled our cup yesterday won’t continue to fill our cup today.

Humility calls us to increasingly depend on God, acknowledging that His infinite wisdom far surpasses our finite minds. Proverbs 1:7 captures it best:

“Start with God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning” (MSG).

Bowing implies submission, respect, honor, reverence, and humility. Without this lifelong learning posture of the heart, we’ll enthrone our knowledge as an idol and turn God into our footstool. Humble yourself! Doing so will give you the attitude you need to grow for a lifetime and ultimately close your growth gaps. Is your posture bent toward humility? Or are you drowning in the glory of your own press release?

What’s the easiest way to cultivate humility? It’s simple: shut up! Seriously. We all like to talk about ourselves. The problem is, so does the person we’re talking to. When you put a verbal zip tie on your mouth, it might surprise you how much more people will enjoy hanging out with you.

Question: How does humility shape your personal growth journey?

This post was adapted from my book, GO! Starting a Personal Growth Revolution. You can order a copy in my store here or on Amazon or Kindle. GO! is also available from Barnes & Noble. For bulk orders, email me here.

 

In Personal Growth Growth, Humility, Learning, Lifelong Learning, Personal Growth
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How to Face Your Growth Gaps

September 9, 2012 — Leave a comment

All of us have growth gaps. My friend Steve Moore refers to these gaps as our “capacity challenge.” The capacity challenge is the gap between the person you are today and the person you must become to reach your dreams. The following diagram best illustrates your ultimate God-given capacity, how much of your potential is being reached, and the remaining gap between the two.

Growth Gap

Capacity defines what a person can contain. It is the total of your God-given potential. In the same way a milk carton has the capacity to hold a gallon of milk, God created every one of us with a specific capacity. In some areas of life, your capacity is like a gallon, in others it’s like a quart, and in still others it’s like a pint. Put simply, your strengths are greater in some areas than others.

The more you understand your greatest strengths (how God uniquely designed you), the more you will understand where you have the largest capacity for personal growth.

Let me give you some personal examples. My capacity for leadership is greater than my capacity for basketball. My capacity for teaching is far greater than my capacity for music. My capacity for writing exceeds my capacity for counseling. No matter how hard I work to grow the low-capacity areas of my life, my performance in these areas will only marginally improve. In areas of weakness, I am limited by a very low capacity ceiling. It’s not a matter of effort or desire. It’s completely a matter of capacity.

If I acquired leadership coaching, my leadership abilities could grow by say, 20 percent. However, no matter how many basketball camps I diligently participate in, I will never excel on the basketball court. Simply stated, my capacity for growth in leadership, teaching, and writing will always outperform my capacity for basketball, music, and counseling. The same is true for you:

The gifts and passions God builds in to you define the areas where you have the greatest capacity and aptitude for growth.

Your growth gap is like the half-full cup in the diagram above. The size of your gap is felt the most when you understand your present state…that is, how much of your potential you’re currently reaching. The cup might have the capacity to hold twelve ounces, but your present state may show you reaching only 40 percent of your potential. This is a crucial point to understand: just because your life has capacity for growth doesn’t mean it will automatically be filled to capacity.

Many people go through life with the capacity to do far more than they’re currently even trying. They’re only realizing half of their potential because they haven’t developed the other half. Only by developing ALL of our potential can we reach our full God-given capacity and, ultimately, fulfill the mission He created us for. When you grow consistently, you’re closing the gap between being half-full and being filled to the brim.

The gap is a reality in all of our lives. Nobody is immune to the gap, but how people respond to it is as diverse as the gap itself.

Some people don’t even recognize that a gap exists. They struggle with nearsightedness, walking obliviously past every opportunity to grow. Others acknowledge the gap in some areas of their life but ignore it in others. They grow cafeteria style, thinking, “I’ll take a little bit of this and a little bit of that.” Still, others take their growth gaps seriously, choosing to grow on purpose in strategic areas of their life.

Think about the faces of the growth gap in your own world. Why can some of your business friends grow thriving companies…and others can’t? How come some of your kids’ teachers create powerful learning moments in their classrooms while others do nothing more than count the minutes until the next bell rings? Why do some pastors break growth barriers while others remain trapped under a lid? Believe it or not, it’s not about desire—it’s all about reaching God-given capacity. The individuals who consistently achieve superior outcomes choose to close the gap between who they are and who they must become. In other words, they face their personal growth gaps head-on and pay the price to close them.

Questions: What are the growth gaps you’re facing right now? What is one step you could take to positively respond to your gaps?

This post was adapted from my book, GO! Starting a Personal Growth Revolution. You can order a copy in my store here or on Amazon or Kindle. GO! is also available from Barnes & Noble. For bulk orders, email me here.

 

In Personal Growth Growth, Learning, Lifelong Learning, Personal Growth, Potential
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GO! Starting a Personal Growth Revolution

July 16, 2012 — Leave a comment

GO!

My New Book is Coming in August

I cannot tell you how excited I am about the upcoming release of my new book, GO! Starting a Personal Growth Revolution. Writing is both a calling and a passion for me, and the message in this book has been cooking inside of me for well over twelve years. I’m so glad to finally share it with you.

So What’s the Message?

Do you feel stuck? Is your personal growth on pause? Is the gap growing larger between where you are and where you want to be? Do you want to help others grow but you don’t know where to start? My new book equips you to unlock your personal growth and inspire a growth revolution in others.

Whether you’re just starting your growth journey, you’re a lifelong learner with an unquenchable appetite for growth, or you’re somewhere in between, GO! will help you to:

  • Identify and close the gap between you and your dreams
  • Access the three on-ramps to personal growth
  • Create a customized personal growth TRAC
  • Experience the power of the five levels of personal growth
  • Embrace the five GO! Practices that take personal growth to an entirely new level
  • Leverage your personality type to grow to your full potential
  • Make intentional investments in others by using six growth deposits

GO! will not only challenge you to grow yourself and the people you influence, but it will also equip you with the tools to turn growth potential into reality. Whether you’re a pastor, coach, teacher, leader, HR professional, student, or you simply want to take your personal growth to a new level, GO! is your roadmap to get there.

What Others Are Saying About GO!

“Some books are written to inform, and others to inspire, still others to motivate you to action. In GO! Starting a Personal Growth Revolution author Stephen Blandino does all three. You will learn, grow and move forward. The concepts are real-life and the strategies, if followed, will actualize your full capacity potential.”

- DR. SAMUEL R. CHAND, Leadership Coach, Consultant, and Author of Cracking Your Church’s Culture Code

“Anybody who wants to become all that God wants them to be has to read GO! Stephen hits the nail on the head on how we develop personally so that we can maximize our God given potential!”

- HERBERT COOPER, Lead Pastor, People’s Church, Oklahoma City

“In business I’m always looking for a competitive edge, and in GO! Starting a Personal Growth Revolution Stephen Blandino gives you that edge. Through the five levels of personal growth you create a pathway for personal growth both for yourself and the people you lead. This book is one you’ll actually implement the wisdom it contains.”

- BILL BARNETT, Nationally Syndicated Radio Host and the Best Selling Author of Are You DUMB Enough to be RICH?

I hope you’ll pick up a copy of GO! upon its upcoming release. If you want to get the latest news on my new book, sign up in the top right margin to get email updates.

 

In Church, Culture, Leadership, Miscellaneous, Organizations, Personal Growth, Uncategorized Growth, Leadership, Learning, Lifelong Learning, Personal Growth
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Epignosis: Grasp It & Be Grasped By It

July 21, 2011 — Leave a comment

Sales and management expert Dave Anderson once wrote, “Where you are in your life is a result of the decisions you’ve made in the past. It is your inside decisions, not outside conditions, that determine your success or lack of it.” Those “inside decisions” define your behavior—whether good or bad. What happens on the inside manifests itself by your behavior on the outside.

In Colossians 1:9, the Apostle Paul writes, “…we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” This verse reveals a natural progression in the growth process: It begins first with knowledge, then moves toward spiritual wisdom and understanding. The word Paul used for knowledge is epignōsis (eh-PIG-noh-sis). Author and professor Dr. William Yount describes epignōsis as “a knowledge that reaches out and grasps its object and is in turn grasped by its object.” What you learn becomes more than knowledge—it changes how you live. You grasp the knowledge, and the knowledge grasps your behavior.

Continue Reading…

In Personal Growth Application, Behavior, decisions, Growth, Knowledge, Learning, Personal Growth, Process
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Is Your Growing Knowledge Turning God Into Your Footstool?

April 15, 2011 — Leave a comment

Yesterday I was online looking at some resources to help people grow in their spiritual journey. I was reminded of a book by a gentleman who was well-versed in the Bible and who had some profoundly deep insights from Scripture. I logged onto his site, anxious to see what was available to help Christ followers mature in their faith. I clicked on an introductory video to his book…and then threw up in my mouth. I thought, “Surely this guy isn’t that arrogant,” so I clicked on one of his teaching videos where I was greeted by an ego bigger than Mount Everest. I couldn’t watch more than 60 seconds before clicking the stop button. And then it hit me: knowledge is an idol…atleast to some people it is. And the rate of their growing knowledge is matched by the rate of their growing ego.

Yesterday morning, hours before watching these videos, I read Proverbs 1:7: “Start with God–the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.” I don’t think it was an accident that I read this verse and watched these videos on the same day. What I saw and what I read were starkly different. So this morning I jotted down a few thoughts in my journal; subtle reminders that before I grow up I must first bow down…that as my learning increases so must humility.

Bowing implies submission, respect, honor, reverence, humility, and teachability. This is the heart posture we must take in order to be lifelong learners. Otherwise we will enthrone our knowledge and make God our footstool…what Proverbs calls, “thumbing their noses.” May God, not your current pool of knowledge, be the God of your learning.

Question: What place does God have in your personal growth?

 

In Personal Growth Growth, Humility, Learning, Personal Growth
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