The Key to Reaching Your Potential

Have you ever stopped and reflected on the pivotal moments when, in an instant, a few words dramatically altered your path and helped shape the person you are today? Think about the whirlwind of emotions and instant changes that have occurred in your own life upon hearing the following:

“It’s a boy!” or “It’s a girl!” (Or maybe you’ve gotten this doozie: “It’s twins!”)

“I do!”

“You’re hired.”

“We need to talk…”

The few words in each of those simple statements are not only life-changing for us, but for the many, many people we go on to impact in our life’s journey.

I can recall one such occasion in 1974 when I was just a young preacher still finding my footing as the pastor of a small church in Ohio. I was having lunch with Curt Kampmeier, and after eagerly telling Curt about all my dreams and goals, he paused and asked me a question that has forever changed my life. He asked:

“Do you have a plan for personal growth?”

This question made such an impact with me because no matter how hard I tried to answer it, I quickly realized I didn’t have an answer. The truth was I had big plans for growing churches and nonprofit organizations, but I had no plan for growing myself. Finally I admitted this much to Curt.

Curt’s response was as matter-of-fact as it was spot-on. “John, personal growth doesn’t just happen.” He went on to explain to me the value of a personal growth plan, and he offered to sell me a personal growth kit that would cost the equivalent of a month’s salary.

Well, as a young couple just starting out in the world, you can imagine that Margaret and I barely had the money to cover our monthly essentials; I wasn’t sure how we could ever scrape together the cash needed to purchase the kit that Curt was offering me. However, of one thing I was sure: if I didn’t invest in my own growth, I would never reach my full potential, and I would never be able to help others do the same.

For the next six months, Margaret and I scrimped and saved in every way imaginable. We skipped lunches and did without some things. Finally, we came up with the money and I bought that kit. In short, it changed my life.

Since meeting Curt nearly four decades ago, I’ve spent the past 38 years focusing on my personal growth. I’ve incorporated it into my daily life, reading books, listening to great teachers, and developing measurable goals and plans to make it happen. I believe the consistent discipline of growth has made it possible for me to add value to people and achieve many of my goals.

Now, let me ask you to consider the same question that Curt asked me all those years ago: Do you have a plan for personal growth?

Of course, I know you’re busy. We all are! We read books, and articles and blogs. We serve on committees and boards and community groups. We are absorbed with raising our children, mentoring our colleagues, and listening to our friends. However, the fact is we can spend all our time consuming information and pouring our lives into others yet never really growing ourselves. When we continuously give to others without intentionally developing on our own, we don’t grow others up. We burn ourselves out.

So, let me ask you this question on more time. Do you have a plan for personal growth?

If you don’t, now is the perfect time to get one. I believe so strongly in the importance of a personal growth plan that my team and I at The John Maxwell Company have put together what we believe is a plan that contains all the essential elements of personal growth. It includes a focus on up to 13 specific growth areas, including Communication, Teamwork, Relationships, and Character. We call it The Maxwell Plan for Personal Growth, and it’s a plan I’m so excited about because I truly believe it will impact the lives of others just like Curt Kampmeier’s plan impacted me. For those individuals who want to tackle their personal growth plan in a more aggressive fashion, we’ve developed the The Maxwell Plan for Personal Growth Plus. You can learn more about both plans at www.MaxwellPlan.com.

Of course, you don’t have to participate in my personal growth plan to begin growing yourself. Personal growth begins with a healthy amount of discontent. You aren’t willing to be satisfied with the way things are because you know the potential for how great things can really be.

Next, you need decide in what areas you want to grow. Do you want to improve as a teammate? Do you want to become a better spouse? Do you want to increase your influence as a leader? After that, determine specifically what you want to accomplish in each area of growth and how you intend to accomplish it. What are you goals, and what specifically do you need to do to steadily work toward them?

Finally, commit to living out your actions for growth every day. These actions don’t have to be grandiose. They can be as simple as reading a chapter in a book on a desired growth area and journaling your thoughts. The key is to developing your plan and carrying it out with purpose and intentionality.

We’re all familiar with the popular translation of a quote from Chinese philosopher Lao-tsu that says, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Begin today in determining what you need to do to take the first step in your journey of personal growth.