#howtodesignagrowthplan

Have you ever stopped and thought that you should Design your Growth Plan?  It has been famously quoted that most people spend more time planning their vacations out every year, than they spend when they design their own lives.  I certainly believe this,  especially after hearing that John Maxwell didn't have a Growth plan when he was younger...  and when he did start looking for other people to help him build a growth plan, he couldn't find anyone.

While half of the people that are making plans, planning for their growth, you still will have a number of professionals that say that planning is useless.  'Things Change too Fast,  What's the point of planning', They Say. And While this isn't the most popular topic or subject to be talking about, I feel that Designing a Growth Plan is Fun and Very important. Without Growth, nothing changes.  The days and weeks become systematic.  You feel less motivated and inspired.  There is no finish line to run towards.  After studying leadership and personal growth for around 20 years, I've noticed that not that many people are worried about their growth.  They are just trying to get thru the challenges that they are currently facing today. While I can agree with that, and I totally understand, I think some of the problem is that people don't know 3 things about growth. They don't see the value in changing, because they are not focused on the benefits of them growing towards their purpose, their higher calling in life. They Don't know How to change. They are afraid of Change, or they think they will change automatically.

 John Maxwell lists out the 8 growth traps of growth in one of his books, and we discuss them in our mastermind course that covers the 15 invaluable Laws of growth.  I do want to Briefly Mention his Growth Traps, because this is where most people get stuck, and While I don't want to Discuss the Growth traps In Detail  in this talk today, I want to focus more about the benefits of Growing and why you should start to design your growth plan now and not wait.  So, Here are the Growth Traps that John Maxwell discovered, in no particular order. The Assumption gap - "I assume I will Automatically Grow." The Knowledge gap - "I don't know how to grow" The Timing gap - "It's not the right time to grow" The Mistake gap - "I'm afraid of making mistakes" The Perfection gap - "I have to find the best way before I start" The Inspiration gap - "I don't feel like doing it" The Comparison gap- "Others are better than I am" The Expectation gap - "I thought it would be easier than this" Now, I don't  know about you, but I feel as if I have been caught be each one of these traps.  I want to make a point here.  It is difficult to design your growth plan, if you are not aware of the areas that will hold you back from growth.  These are the 8 Areas that People get hung up on. Make sure that you are .... "Aware" of these gaps, but don't focus to much on them. I want to remind you, like so many coaches do, that where your focus goes, energy flows. We want to focus on your growth, so that you grow.

So, Let's Get started on How to Design Your Growth Plan

I know you may sigh at the sound of this, but the first thing you need to do is buy John Maxwell's Book if you don't have it already on "The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth". This book is so foundation on designing your growth Plan.  There is no way I can get everything in this post about how to design a Growth plan, but having this book, reading it and studying it is the first step.  Think of it like buying a bible to go to church with.  There are 15 laws, and when you focus on all of them, you will maximize your growth potential. I am certified to teach masterminds, lunch and learns and speak on this topic, so I will Try and get the most important steps first.  The first step is to buy the best book on the topic. Common sense right.. Well, I'll try and give you a little more info than that... To fully understand and reach your full potential, you will need to grow in the following areas Self-Awareness Character Skills Relationships Spirituality The great thing about John's laws is that they teach you the laws and then you incorporate them in your life.  In the course, we recommend that you keep a growth journal and stay involved with the other students so that you can mastermind and share your growth experiences. If you are serious about learning how to  Design Your Growth Plan... Make sure you have the right resources, like books that I discussed.  You want to start figure out how to find you life purpose  and How to move toward your dreams.  I have other blog posts written about those topics, You can link back to them and check them out.

Once you have your purpose and dreams written down in very specific detail, it is easier to start planning out your growth strategies.  The 15 Laws of Growth Cover a lot of the Exercises, and the biggest things for you to do after you have your purpose and dream described on paper is this.  Your purpose and dream will give you the inspiration and motivation when things get hard, painful, when you struggle and even Fail. Without your purpose and dream written down, as specifically as possible, your chances of not staying in a growth mindset will dramatically diminish. Next,  Make a Choice to Commit to your growth plan, and this is a way of thinking, a Habit you Forge, For now until you Die.  Growth Doesn't happen by accident.  If you stay committed to growth, you will always grow.  If you just make goals, sometimes you hit your goals, or sometimes you won't but When you commit to Growth, You become obsessed with the process.. That is KEY. After you write down your life purpose, your dream, make the commitment to form growth habits the rest of your life, you are ready for the fun stuff. Now, The assessment part.  Where are you currently at in your life right now?  What resources do you have at your disposal?  What Key relationships do you need to build?  What skills will you need to continue to grow? About 10 years ago, I decided that I had hit a Lid in my Life.  I couldn't get any higher, so I had to look at some of the skills that I needed to learn to get where I wanted to be.  I also Started looking at the people I had in my Life.  Were they getting the results I wanted?

Have you ever stopped and thought that you should Design your Growth Plan?  It has been famously quoted that most people spend more time planning their vacations out every year, than they spend when they design their own lives.  I certainly believe this,  especially after hearing that John Maxwell didn't have a Growth plan when he was younger...  and when he did start looking for other people to help him build a growth plan, he couldn't find anyone.

While half of the people that are making plans, planning for their growth, you still will have a number of professionals that say that planning is useless.  'Things Change too Fast,  What's the point of planning', They Say. And While this isn't the most popular topic or subject to be talking about, I feel that Designing a Growth Plan is Fun and Very important. Without Growth, nothing changes.  The days and weeks become systematic.  You feel less motivated and inspired.  There is no finish line to run towards.  After studying leadership and personal growth for around 20 years, I've noticed that not that many people are worried about their growth.  They are just trying to get thru the challenges that they are currently facing today. While I can agree with that, and I totally understand, I think some of the problem is that people don't know 3 things about growth. They don't see the value in changing, because they are not focused on the benefits of them growing towards their purpose, their higher calling in life. They Don't know How to change. They are afraid of Change, or they think they will change automatically.

 John Maxwell lists out the 8 growth traps of growth in one of his books, and we discuss them in our mastermind course that covers the 15 invaluable Laws of growth.  I do want to Briefly Mention his Growth Traps, because this is where most people get stuck, and While I don't want to Discuss the Growth traps In Detail  in this talk today, I want to focus more about the benefits of Growing and why you should start to design your growth plan now and not wait.  So, Here are the Growth Traps that John Maxwell discovered, in no particular order. The Assumption gap - "I assume I will Automatically Grow." The Knowledge gap - "I don't know how to grow" The Timing gap - "It's not the right time to grow" The Mistake gap - "I'm afraid of making mistakes" The Perfection gap - "I have to find the best way before I start" The Inspiration gap - "I don't feel like doing it" The Comparison gap- "Others are better than I am" The Expectation gap - "I thought it would be easier than this" Now, I don't  know about you, but I feel as if I have been caught be each one of these traps.  I want to make a point here.  It is difficult to design your growth plan, if you are not aware of the areas that will hold you back from growth.  These are the 8 Areas that People get hung up on. Make sure that you are .... "Aware" of these gaps, but don't focus to much on them. I want to remind you, like so many coaches do, that where your focus goes, energy flows. We want to focus on your growth, so that you grow.

So, Let's Get started on How to Design Your Growth Plan

I know you may sigh at the sound of this, but the first thing you need to do is buy John Maxwell's Book if you don't have it already on "The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth". This book is so foundation on designing your growth Plan.  There is no way I can get everything in this post about how to design a Growth plan, but having this book, reading it and studying it is the first step.  Think of it like buying a bible to go to church with.  There are 15 laws, and when you focus on all of them, you will maximize your growth potential. I am certified to teach masterminds, lunch and learns and speak on this topic, so I will Try and get the most important steps first.  The first step is to buy the best book on the topic. Common sense right.. Well, I'll try and give you a little more info than that... To fully understand and reach your full potential, you will need to grow in the following areas Self-Awareness Character Skills Relationships Spirituality The great thing about John's laws is that they teach you the laws and then you incorporate them in your life.  In the course, we recommend that you keep a growth journal and stay involved with the other students so that you can mastermind and share your growth experiences. If you are serious about learning how to  Design Your Growth Plan... Make sure you have the right resources, like books that I discussed.  You want to start figure out how to find you life purpose  and How to move toward your dreams.  I have other blog posts written about those topics, You can link back to them and check them out.

Once you have your purpose and dreams written down in very specific detail, it is easier to start planning out your growth strategies.  The 15 Laws of Growth Cover a lot of the Exercises, and the biggest things for you to do after you have your purpose and dream described on paper is this.  Your purpose and dream will give you the inspiration and motivation when things get hard, painful, when you struggle and even Fail. Without your purpose and dream written down, as specifically as possible, your chances of not staying in a growth mindset will dramatically diminish. Next,  Make a Choice to Commit to your growth plan, and this is a way of thinking, a Habit you Forge, For now until you Die.  Growth Doesn't happen by accident.  If you stay committed to growth, you will always grow.  If you just make goals, sometimes you hit your goals, or sometimes you won't but When you commit to Growth, You become obsessed with the process.. That is KEY. After you write down your life purpose, your dream, make the commitment to form growth habits the rest of your life, you are ready for the fun stuff. Now, The assessment part.  Where are you currently at in your life right now?  What resources do you have at your disposal?  What Key relationships do you need to build?  What skills will you need to continue to grow? About 10 years ago, I decided that I had hit a Lid in my Life.  I couldn't get any higher, so I had to look at some of the skills that I needed to learn to get where I wanted to be.  I also Started looking at the people I had in my Life.  Were they getting the results I wanted?