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?

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?