I made the decision to grow in my life, I don’t want to just drift through it like most people throughout the world. I don’t want other people to determine my future for me, I want to be in control of my future and what happens to me. I have it in me to make a big difference in the world. I have it in me to lead myself and inspire others to follow my example. I have it in me to help you to do the same. How willing are you to change yourself to become the person you really want to be? How willing are you to go through the change to find out who you really are?

Up to now, most changes that have happened in your life will be outside of your control. That is the same for everyone. A lot of the time change does just happen to people, it has happened to me and others that I know.

Would you rather create change yourself, or feel the impact of change that is created by other people? It is possible for you to change without growing. But it is impossible for you to grow without creating change yourself.

1. Working On Yourself

When deciding to work on yourself to grow, you must be deliberate in making that decision. Growth doesn’t just happen to you, and it doesn’t happen because you are getting older, wiser and more mature every day.

That is why you see so many young people around the world who are far more successful than people older than them because they deliberately decided to grow in certain areas. That is what you must do.

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We are up to my 233^rd article on this site and you must understand that everything we have discussed so far will support you in your growth. We have just discussed growth which is the foundational level of change and will support your level of importance and success.

Every level we discuss supports the next level, and each level is supported by the level that comes before it.

The principles I am sharing in my articles can be implemented in all areas of your life, not just in your work or home life. I have written each article so that you are supported in all areas that you make the deliberate decision to change and transform in.

As you continue to read you will understand the different levels, and how each level is supported and supports another level.

I can provide you with all the information in my articles, but it will be up to you to put what you learn into action and then share what you learn with your people. We mentioned earlier about getting fit, you can’t get fit by accident and you cannot grow by accident.

You must put in the work required to become fit, and you must put in the work required to grow. You have the responsibility to grow yourself in whatever area you decide, nobody else can do this for you.

2. Your Purpose

Growing yourself deliberately and based on your passion will bring you closer to discovering what your purpose in life is. My purpose is, “To develop current and future leaders into highly effective leaders so that, they can develop current and future leaders into highly effective leaders.”

My purpose is the reason why I write books, create online courses and other content, speak and coach on leadership, personal growth and influence. To bring yourself closer to your vision you need to develop a deliberate plan for your growth.

When you take action on your deliberate growth plan you will start to see your vision a lot clearer, and you will see a lot more also.

As you move closer to your vision you will be growing into a highly effective leader, and to remain on that path you will need to adjust your deliberate growth plan from time to time.

When you start to make change, be aware that you are not making just any old change, as thinking like this can have a negative effect on you and those around you. Negative change will not be good for you so keep that in mind.

As you develop your deliberate growth plan, set goals that support the areas where you want to grow. I talk about being growth oriented and not goal oriented, but setting small goals that support your growth does work well.

When you make changes that are positive you will be moving towards the vision you have set for yourself. You will be moving towards creating the future you want for yourself, and you will be living on purpose, and with purpose.

3. Your Character

As you do this you will also be having a positive influence on the people around you as you will be showing them a great example. You will be moving towards becoming a highly effective leader and you will be influencing your people to change too.

The main benefits you will see in yourself when you start to change & transform is in your character development. Most people believe it is their competency development that will get them their best results, but that is wrong.

It is character development where you will see the best results in yourself, as character growth will help you to multiply your influence.

When you work on your weaknesses you will start to see the most positive change, as you will when you develop your integrity. This is very important when developing your character.

4. Your Competency

I mentioned that character development will get you the best results, but that doesn’t mean I want you to forget competency development. Your competency development is still very important when it comes to growth.

To make the most positive changes in your competency, you must focus on your strengths. These are the areas where you feel the most naturally talented in both your personal and professional life.

To get to where you need to be, character development will take you 75% of the way there, and competency development will take you the remaining 25%.

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When we develop ourselves in this life, we don’t all have the same goals for growth, we don’t all have the same vision for ourselves. So, it is highly likely that as you work on yourself and grow, you are going to need to leave some of your closest people behind.

They won’t have the same vision as you, they won’t be going where you want to go, so they may get in your way, and you can’t have that. There is a chance that you can increase your influence with them and inspire them to grow too.

If you cannot do that then you must leave them behind. You have made your decision to grow and create the future you want for yourself; they will make their decisions too.

You will obviously stay in touch, live them and miss them, but they won’t be in your life as much while you are working on becoming your best self and growing into a highly effective leader.

There is far too much of the same things happening in people and organisations, where they don’t focus on growth. They keep doing the same things day in and day out and expecting different results.

As Einstein says, that is insanity.

I welcome hearing how this post has influenced the way you think, the way you lead, or the results you have achieved because of what you’ve learned in it. Please feel free to share your thoughts with me by commenting below.

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All the best,

Tom (Lead, Grow, Influence)