Maxwell's thoughts on life, #4 CatalystDallas

First, if you would like to read more fully what Maxwell meant with his personal definition of success, which I blogged about a few weeks ago, you can find it here on Maxwell’s blog.  He of course does a much better job with it than I did. 

Here is the fourth thought that Maxwell Shared with us at Catalyst. 

Follow the Rule of Five

The a good way to affectively meet your goals is to "Follow the Rule of Five." 

• Set a Goal
• Everyday do Five things that will help you accomplish that goal.

Maxwell gave the analogy of chopping down a tree. If you want to chop down a tree, then every day you should go out into the yard pick up the ax and swing it at the tree five times, put down the ax and go on about your day.  If you will do that, and do that every day, soon the question you begin to ask is “When will the tree fall?” and not “Will the tree fall?” 

Maxwell knew that he wanted to be a writer.  So he developed a Rule of Five to make sure that he became and continued to be a writer.  Every day he:

1.  Reads
2. Thinks
3. Files (illustrations, stories, things he could use in writing)
4. Asks questions of other people
5. Writes   

Then, Maxwell defined every day for us.  It means EVERYDAY.  Sundays? Yes.  Birthdays? Yes. Christmas? Yes.  Vacations? Yes.

“I don’t do them all day, I do them every day.”

Maxwell said that it took him six years to settle on these five things for his Rule of Five.

Do you have a routine?  How do you start your day? What do you do to make sure you meet your goals?  Are you a “to-do list person”?  What disciplines do you have in place to help you meet your goals? What are you intentional about?

What to improve -- Maxwell's third thought.

The 3rd “thought on life” that John Maxwell shared with us at Catalyst Dallas:

In abilities, work on your strengths,

In matters of choice, work on your weaknesses.

Although this is becoming a more popular thought in self-improvement, this is counter-intuitive for most of us.  Going through school I was always taught to get better at the things at which I am not good.  Maxwell makes a pretty compelling argument of why that is not necessarily the best option.

In abilities, work on your strengths.

In things that it takes a natural ability to ever be a master, you should work on your strengths.  If you rate yourself a 2 (out of 10) in something, then (unless you are the exception) you will probably never be an 8, 9, or 10.  However, if you are naturally a 5 or 6 at something, then over time, with practice and learning, you can become a 9 or 10. “God will never hold you accountable for a gift you don’t have.”

And of course if I know I am weak in a certain area, I am going to try to add someone to my team that is stronger in that area, to make up for my weaknesses. 

Also, if it is something I am passionate about, my level of ability will not stop me from working on it for my own enjoyment. I am still determined that one day I will play the guitar even though I can’t change chords and strum at the same time. I also enjoy playing recreational racquetball and volleyball, I will probably never be better than a “B” player, but I enjoy these things and they are for my personal fulfillment.

In matters of choice, work on your weaknesses.

In things at which you can choose to be better, work on your weakness.  Maxwell’s examples were Attitude and Discipline.  In both of these areas, with determination and focus you can go from a 1 to a 10.  IF I have a bad attitude or a lack of self-discipline, then over time with learning and practice I can become a 10.  We can choose to put different behaviors into our lives that will help us develop these things and go from bad to Great.

As someone who has wrestled with self-discipline most of my life, I was greatly encouraged by this for one reason: IT IS TRUE.  With help and some coaching I am turning my lack of discipline around.  I have always had just enough discipline to get by, but never enough to excel. As an example I look at my low High School GPA, 2.35 (inflated by several credits of band and other electives that were always A’s).  It was just enough to scrape by and graduate.  With work and help I have become much better and am still improving daily. 

What are your thoughts/reactions to this?  Do you know of an exception? In matters of abilities do you spend more time on your strengths or your weaknesses? Do you have a way of working on your weakness in the matters of choice category?  How many of you have someone who intentionally helps improve your life?  

Maxwell's Thoughts for Life: Thought 1

John Maxwell’s talk was incredibly practical. I will continue my notes here:

He then began talking, spewing out great information in what he called just “Thoughts for Life.”  (There were five of them I will share them one post at a time.  It’s just too much for one post.)

Thought 1: You need to define a personal definition of success.

Maxwell encouraged us to develop a personal definition of success, rather than always chasing the ever-changing world’s definition.  We must answer the question, “What is success for me?”  

He answered them for himself.  And says that he is successful if he:

1.      Knows his purpose in life.

a.      What am I passionate about?

b.      What are my gifts, abilities, and strengths?

c.      What do I do well?

2.      Is growing to his max potential personally.

3.      Sowing seeds that benefit others.

I find the second one a little frustrating.  It’s just not measurable.  So maybe it would be better stated (and maybe he meant it this way) growing towards his max potential.

What do you think?

Do you have a “stated” definition of success?  Do you think we should?  Would you think defining our own success can help us keep from being caught up in the world's definitions? Can we have a stated definition and let the definition transform some over time?  What do you think of when you think success? What are your personal definitions of success?