I’ve been reading the book “Developing the Leaders Around You” by John Maxwell once more. I’ve been continually trying to push myself to be a better leader to my team and to others around me. Leadership is not about what you do or say. It’s about your life and how other people perceive it – letting you influence them.
This entry is especially meant for my team at SEO Hacker. (If you didn’t know, we’re an SEO Company in the Philippines.) I hope you guys would start your personal growth plans today and commit to it.
Great leadership starts with personal growth. It is not a popular concept but it is true. Remember what Jesus said?
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” – Matthew 7:3
In leadership, that means we should first correct, discipline and improve ourselves before we try to improve others. Unfortunately, personal growth is not automatic.
People think that personal growth is a natural result of being alive. Just as we are automatically ‘growing’ physically, other aspects of our lives automatically grow too. We can’t be more wrong.
In fact, growth does not necessarily come with experience, nor knowledge. Personal growth must be deliberate, planned and consistent.
Growth that is not strategically planned into the day soon disappears because our lives are busy. ‘Finding time‘ is not enough. You have to make time. Because nowadays, time is a rare commodity to be found.
After you’ve made time, guard that time as you would any other appointment. Treat it is an appointment with your future self. No time invested in personal growth will immediately produce results – it is an investment for the future. A boxer does not become a champion in the ring. He becomes a champion by training rigorously years before his appointed fight.
To help guide you, here is my plan for my own personal growth:
Mondays: Spend 1 hour reading 5 blogs (in no particular order) about SEO news, Conversion Rate Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Blogging, Content Marketing, etc.
Tuesdays: 1 hour listening to a podcast while driving going to meetings
Wednesdays: 1 hour Reading books on leadership, marriage, love, etc.
Thursdays: 1 hour reading blogs in my industry
Fridays: 1 hour reflecting and writing on what I’ve learned this week
In all these, of course, I do my daily time with God – reading His Word, praying and writing down in my journal about what I’ve learned and what’s happening with my life. I do all these as consistently as I possibly can.
Planning for personal growth has to be a daily task. It is a habit that you build.
Start building it now.
