How Successful People Grow: 15 Ways to Get Ahead in Life

In the book, the author quotes the writer Robert Louis Stevenson, who said, "I consider the success of my day based on the seeds I sow, not the harvest I reap." These words are at the heart of "How Successful People Grow." The seeds you sow in yourself and others is one of the best ways to measure a life well-lived.

According to the author, you can't change your life until you change the little things you do every day. This book gives you 15 powerful lessons to help you sow seeds in all areas of life, so you can experience transformative personal growth, and become the person you always wanted to be.

This is the kind of book that all of us can learn something from. It doesn't matter if you're in a career you love, if you're looking to make a major change, or you're just getting started in the workforce. There are insights and lessons in here for everyone.

John Maxwell is a pastor and a best-selling author who's written more than 60 books. He speaks to Fortune 500 companies, international governments, and other diverse organizations on leadership and personal growth.

So, keep listening to learn some common excuses that might be limiting your personal growth, how to match your motivation strategies to your personality type, and why doubling your estimates will help you avoid failure.

"How Successful People Grow" is a compact little book of just over 140 pages. There are 15 chapters, and each one focuses on one short and powerful lesson for experiencing growth in all areas of your life.

The first of these lessons is to become an intentional learner.

If you want to get better at what you do, improve your relationships, or gain insights, depth, and wisdom, you have to consciously focus on growth. There's a subtlety to this: the author says that if you focus on your goals you may hit them, but that doesn't always guarantee growth. Whereas, if you focus on growth, you'll grow and hit your goals.

There are a lot of misconceptions about growth and why it's so important. The author goes over eight of these misconceptions in this first chapter.

One of these he calls "the assumption gap." This is the misconception that we automatically grow as we get older and have more experiences.

He stresses again that growth has to be intentional. For instance, look at the mistakes we all make in life. Some people take time to look at their errors and learn from them, while others just keep on doing the same things over and over again, making the same mistakes.

Another misconception is that people know how to grow. That's not always true. They might learn from their mistakes, which can help them change. But the author says it's much more effective to plan your growth. You can decide where you need to grow, and choose what you'll learn.

One way to do this is to think about the type of person you want to be. Make a list of what you'd need to do to become this type of person. What skills would you need to learn? What kind of character does this person have? How do they treat others? This simple list can be a good starting point as you move through the rest of the book.

Many people are also afraid to grow. The author calls this 'the mistake gap.'

Fear is common because growing isn't easy, and we don't always go about it the right way. We have to admit we don't have all the answers, and we have to accept that we may look foolish in the process. This isn't easy for a lot of people.

The author quotes the businessman Warren Buffet here, who said, "A mistake is simply another way of doing things." And he's right. If you start on this path to growth, then expect to make mistakes. Learn how to embrace those mistakes, and learn what you can from them.

We like that the author discusses these ideas early on, because they highlight the misunderstandings and excuses we all make when it comes to working towards personal growth.

So once you've addressed your excuses and fears about personal growth, how do you become an intentional learner?

You have to start by asking the big questions.

When the author first started on his own journey of personal growth, he began by asking, "How long is this going to take?" But learning needs to be a lifelong process. You should instead ask, "How far can I go?"

It's impossible to predict how far you can go, because you're only limited by your imagination. But thinking about this question early on will help you discover the direction you need to go with your learning and growth.

Next, look at your calendar for the next 12 months. How much time have you set aside for personal growth?

If you're like most people, you've probably set aside little, if any. So, make an appointment with yourself for personal growth every day, five days a week. Even 15 minutes a day will make a difference over time.

For growth to happen, you also need to focus on developing self-awareness, and this is the lesson in chapter two.

The author says you can't grow unless you know yourself. And we agree that he's spot on about this. After all, could you plan a route on a map if you didn't know where you were starting from? Definitely not!

Self-awareness means knowing who you are and what you want. It also means knowing how your actions, words, and emotions affect those around you. Once you fully understand yourself, as you are right now, you can give your full attention to where you want to go.

To develop more self-awareness, first ask yourself if you like what you're doing with your life right now. Many people don't, but they're too afraid of the risks to make a change.

We think it's important to analyze those risks carefully. But we also think it's just as risky to stay in a role or career you're not satisfied with.

If you're unhappy doing what you're doing, think carefully about why you're unhappy. What would you like to be doing? What makes you feel excited and passionate?

Now think about why you're so passionate about this activity. What are your motives? The author says identifying the "why" behind your passion can give you the inner strength to build positive relationships and make the right decisions along the way.

While there are some useful, thought-provoking questions in this chapter, we think the author could have included some more advice and tools to help readers better identify their passions. After all, this is part of the foundation for personal growth, and it's not always easy to uncover the most meaningful niche for you.

That being said, the prompts the author includes here are useful. We just think readers would benefit more if this chapter went into greater depth.

Another lesson we particularly like is about self-discipline, in chapter five.

Self-discipline is an important element for long-term growth. Stop and think about how many times you didn't complete a goal you set for yourself. Chances are you started out with a lot of passion and enthusiasm. But after a setback or challenge, your excitement flickered and died as you realized this was going to be a lot of work.

This has happened to all of us at some point. And it's why self-discipline is a crucial part of any long-term change.

The author has some useful tips in this chapter for developing more self-discipline.

First, you need to match your motivation to your personality type.

If you're in management, you probably already know that everyone is motivated by different things. If you understand your own personality's strengths and weaknesses, you can tailor your approach to motivation and learning to accommodate each of these elements.

The author goes over several personality profiles to help you uncover the one that best matches your own.

One of these personality types is called phlegmatic. If you're phlegmatic, your strengths are that you're easy-going and likable, but your biggest weakness is inertia.

If you fall into this category, motivate yourself by identifying value in what you need to do. Many phlegmatics become incredibly tenacious once they understand what they're doing has value.

Another one of these personality types is melancholic. If you're melancholic, you're a perfectionist who pays attention to every detail, while your biggest weakness is that you're afraid of making mistakes.

If this sounds like you, motivate yourself by focusing on the joy of learning details, and developing a mastery over what you're learning.

Whatever your personality type, you can stay motivated by starting small. When you attempt to do too much early on, it's easy to lose motivation when you don't get the results you want. So, focus on the small stuff. Set goals that will give you some quick wins early on, and gradually work your way up to larger achievements.

It's also important to value the process. Many people set a goal and then race towards the finish line. But the process of learning and growing is valuable and rewarding in and of itself. Your growth should be a lifelong journey, so you might as well enjoy yourself along the way.

Learn how to appreciate the day-to-day changes you go through as you learn and grow. You'll have richer experiences, and you'll be less tempted to rush through the process.

Chapter seven is also highly useful because here, the author talks about how to use strategy to support your personal growth. And he shares an insight early on that we really like.

He says that designing your life is more important than designing your career.

At first, this might sound a bit far-fetched. After all, your career is a really important part of your life. For many people, their career supports their life.

The author's point here is that if you spend time designing your life, then your career will naturally take care of itself. The two go hand in hand.

The problem is many people spend more time planning their vacation than they do planning either their life or their career.

This is because people often focus on the things they think will give them the greatest return. If, deep down, you don't really believe you can succeed, why bother planning an ideal life or job? It's easier to plan a relaxing vacation – especially when you're sure you'll get immediate benefits from the break.

One strategy the author uses in his own planning is to double everything. For instance, if you think it will take one month to learn a new skill, give yourself two months. If you think you'll need x amount of money for a personal project, double that amount.

Most of the time, things take longer and cost more than we expect. And when you don't plan for this it can be discouraging, and even cause us to quit. If you multiply everything by two then you'll mix a bit of realism into your optimism.

The rest of the book continues in this same vein. Each chapter focuses on a specific lesson that's a valuable part of lifelong learning and growth. The author uses examples from his own life, and quotes from notable personalities, to underscore his points and make an impact.

So, what's our last word on "How Successful People Grow"?

We like this book because the lessons are insightful and useful for a wide variety of readers. If you're at all interested in learning how to achieve lifelong personal growth, this book is a great starting point. It's short and powerful, and can help you quickly get moving on becoming the type of person you've always wanted to be.

That being said, the compactness of the book does have a few drawbacks. There were several chapters that would have been more useful if they'd been longer, covering the ideas in greater depth.

So, while the author's insights are practical and worthwhile, some readers might be left wanting if they're looking for specific instructions on how to apply some of these ideas.

It helps to think of this book as an inspiring starting point. You'll learn some great lessons on why personal growth is important, and you'll get 15 strategies to help you get started.

"How Successful People Grow" by John Maxwell is published by Hachette Book Group.

That's the end of this episode of Book Insights. Thanks for listening.