I don’t personally know John Maxwell, but the seeds of my personal growth journey can be traced back to something he said years ago that literally changed my life. Understanding “Destiny Marker” moments in your personal growth is important. Those moments often point to the birthplace of your growth. To put that in perspective, let me give you some backstory.

I have been pretty transparent about my growth journey over the years. I’ve painfully admitted my lack of drive toward educational excellence while I was in high school and college. I’ve confessed my satisfaction with Bs and Cs (even the occasional D or F). And I’ve been honest about my dislike for reading during my early years. Unfortunately, I wasn’t alone. Only 45% of Americans over the age of 13 read a book in the course of a year.

While that was true of me when I was in school, thankfully that changed, particularly in the area of leadership. One day, at the prodding of a friend, I picked up John Maxwell’s early leadership book, Developing the Leader Within You. After reading that book, I remember thinking to myself, “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 was one of the first seeds in my journey toward personal growth.

In March 1999, I planted another seed in that journey that would ultimately produce a game changing crop in my life. I attended a leadership lunch with several hundred pastors and business leaders in Lexington, Kentucky. John Maxwell was doing a brief teaching at the lunch based on his new book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.

One of the laws Maxwell shared during that brief speaking engagement was the “Law of the Lid” which says, “Leadership ability determines a person’s level of effectiveness.” Maxwell’s premise was that if you want to grow your effectiveness in your organization, you have to grow your leadership ability. If you don’t, your leadership ability (or lack of ability) will become the lid on your organization. You can want success, and you can work hard, but unless you raise your lid, you will never raise the lid on your organization.

Then he said something that literally changed my life. I don’t throw “changed my life” around flippantly. People make that statement frequently to refer to nothing more than a moment of inspiration. But this was more than inspiration for me. His words permanently marked me that day. Maxwell said,

“If you’re going to raise your lid, you need a plan for personal growth.”

Doesn’t sound like “changed my life” words does it? Keep reading.

When Maxwell finished speaking that day, I walked back to the book table and bought The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Then I stood in line to have him sign the book. But while I was standing in line, I couldn’t get out of my head what he said about a personal growth plan. So that day I shelled out the money to buy a kit he was selling called, Learning the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.

Inside the kit were 22 lessons on a dozen cassette tapes (yes, this was a very long time ago). I made a commitment to go to my office an hour early a couple of days per week. On those days I would pop one of those tapes into my cassette player, and I’d listen to Maxwell teach each law of leadership while I carefully took notes.

Week after week I began learning leadership principles I had never heard before. And week after week my thinking began to change and my leadership began to improve. That kit was my very first growth plan. It put me on a trajectory toward lifelong learning.

In the years that followed, mentors showed me how to focus my growth plan even more by blending growth goals, action plans, and accountability. I continued to read, learn, apply, and grow as I refined my growth planning skills. But where did it start? Where were the first seeds planted? It all began with a couple of books and a kit by someone who was passionate about growth.

In 2012, I released a book that captures much of what I have learned about personal growth. In GO! Starting a Personal Growth Revolution, I shared the five levels of personal growth, outlined my Growth TRAC process, and offered strategies to inspire growth in others. Those early seeds bloomed into a harvest.

As I reflect on my growth over the years, I see how far I have come, but more importantly, I’m reminded of how much further I have to go. Eric Hoffer’s words keep things in perspective for me:

“In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”

I never want to stop learning. I always want to invest intentionally in my growth. As Maxwell’s mentor, John Wooden, always said, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” But I also want to help others grow. In the same way Maxwell unknowingly planted seeds in a young leader that set him on a personal growth journey, I always want to plant seeds of growth in others.

I’m so glad that I took a friend’s advice to read Developing the Leader Within You. I am so grateful that I took to heart John Maxwell’s challenge 16 years ago to develop a plan for personal growth, and to pick up his kit to help me get started. That’s where the seeds of my personal growth journey were planted. While I don’t personally know John Maxwell, his influence (through his teaching, books, and resources), planted and watered my growth early on. For that I will always be thankful.

That’s where my journey began…what about yours? Can you pinpoint the seeds of your growth journey? And are you planting seeds of growth in somebody else?