7 Steps You Can Take to Live by Design, Not by Default

Are you living a life by design or a life by default? Are you intentionally making things happen that move you along the path to success and achieving your goals, or merely going with the flow, letting life take you wherever it happens to lead? If you're not living by design and are just letting things happen, then chances are you're not growing very much either, if at all.

Personal growth is the common denominator of success. If you're not growing, you can't help someone else grow, let alone grow a team. You can't give what you don't have. Success becomes elusive.

Developing your personal growth is like planting a seed-it will come to fruition if you nurture it and work at it DAILY. Forget to water or tend to your seeds consistently and they wither and die. We typically spend a great deal of time, energy and money on all kinds of things, except developing ourselves--we put ourselves last. In order to grow, this has to change.

When you work on yourself daily, you create your own opportunities for growth. That growth not only makes it possible for you to succeed and realize your dreams, it gives you the opportunity to impact the lives of those all around you.

Growth, like change, is a complex process. Over time, I have found there are seven key steps I find are essential to achieve personal growth, so as a result, you can live a life by design. Follow them and you will be amazed by how much you grow and what you are able to accomplish.

HERE ARE THE SEVEN STEPS:

1. DEFINE YOUR PURPOSE

In order to grow, you need a purpose. Your purpose provides meaning to your life. Your vision is about how you want to live, what you want to own in your life, or have in your possession. Your purpose is who you are becoming along the way. Purpose gives you the power of perseverance. It pulls you through all the difficult times. The clearer your purpose is, the more powerful it becomes. When you know your purpose, you find your direction.

2. DEVELOP SELF-CONFIDENCE

When you do your best and 'give it all you've got' every day, you feel good about yourself. It increases your self-esteem and enhances your confidence, because you have accomplished something positive. Being the best you can be consistently, every day, helps you stay motivated and allows you to believe in your ability to achieve your goals and develop a winners mindset.

3. DEMONSTRATE ENTHUSIASM

Nothing worthwhile ever gets accomplished without enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is an inside job. It comes from the fire inside deep inside you, created by your purpose. Knowing that part of your goal is to serve and impact others, it is important to be able to lead with all of your energy and passion.

4. IMPROVE YOUR SKILLSET

Always be the best you can be. Develop and improve your work skills. Find a mentor. Invest the time to attend seminars, take workshops, or master a new technique for doing something. Decide to become the BEST at what you do. If you INVEST JUST 30 minutes a day for FIVE years, you will become one of the very best in your profession, because improving your skillset puts you at the top of your game. Then you become unstoppable.

5. BE PREPARED

Life doesn't give us what we want, it gives us what we deserve. Success does not just 'happen'. You have to prepare for it. You have to develop a growth plan. Seek out what you need and what you are passionate about. If you like good ideas, go where they exist...read good books, attend church, got to seminars, take a class. Work on your skillset. Make a plan and work your plan. EVERY DAY. When you are prepared, and opportunity presents itself, your chances for success increase and become much GREATER. You will start to attract success. Life does not waste success on the unprepared. When you are prepared, opportunity shows up and you win--you become a successful person.

6. STAY CONSISTENT

Success is rented and rent is due every day. This means you have to do whatever it takes-consistently--to get something done until it is finished. You don't give up just because you are tired...you keep going until the task is completed and you have achieved the desired results. Personal growth requires the same commitment. Your key to success is hidden in your daily agenda and your habits. You have to do what makes you grow consistently, and do it EVERY SINGLE DAY. It has to be a primary project, not just a secondary idea. Think of it as being as essential as breathing. The same way that deep breathing changes your life. Personal growth can change your perspective for life.

7. BUILD YOUR LEGACY

Most people want to excel and succeed. But the reality is, that in order to experience 'explosive' growth, beyond your expectations, you have to not only grow yourself, you have to develop the people around you. You have to empower them to become better than yourself, then surround yourself with them. By doing so, you are then leading the 'leaders,' who will become the legs of your legacy. By investing in other people, you also invest in yourself, as well as your mission in business and life. As you help others progress, they help you multiply your efforts to advance in both business and your life, resulting in added value for everyone.

Now that you understand the elements of personal growth, what are you doing on a daily basis to keep growing? What steps do you need to take live a life by design, versus default? The choice is yours.

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