Jolt!, Phil Cooke [reading women txt] 📗

the specifics of their job as much as they care about the “big picture” of their field.

I have a friend who teaches film at a university. Although he’s quite good at teaching students, grading papers, and setting up classes, his real passion is the movies. He can discuss major films, cultural issues, and the lives of great filmmakers for hours. His daily job is the normal routine of teaching and running a classroom. But his great passion is the subject he teaches. He’ll never get tired of teaching or the people he works with, because his life is filled with passion.

Sure, you may get tired of office politics, company forms, office routine, or dealing with clients. I would have to say that, for most of us, the routine aspects of any job can get pretty tedious. But when you’re on a personal arc of growth, your passion becomes so much greater. When others are getting bogged down in daily routine, growing people are swinging for a much farther fence. These are people who are growing, learning, and expanding their experience— people who never lose interest in their work.

Overcome your daily routine with a passionate journey of personal growth. Spend as much time expanding your knowledge and experience as you spend on the mundane, and see if your interest levels and excitement don’t change for the better.

4. You don’t enjoy your coworkers and associates.

A fourth sign is that you don’t enjoy your coworkers and associates. One of the most difficult frustrations in the workplace is the (often sudden) feeling that you’re growing tired of your coworkers. In most cases, this is another symptom of lack of growth, and it has much to do with the first issue of influence. When you’re the go-to person, everyone at work seeks you out. They want your advice and expertise on a myriad of issues and concerns. But when you stop growing, the focus shifts to someone else. Personal growth keeps you focused on people and keeps them focused on you.

Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.

—ABIGAIL ADAMS, FIRST LADY

A life of continual growth is a deliberate plan that requires real effort but can be accomplished by anyone with a sincere desire to expand his or her knowledge and experience.

Where do you start? First, set aside thirty minutes to an hour each day for personal growth. Find the same location if possible—at the office or at home— and dedicate a certain time for pursuing this goal. You might like to get up a little earlier in the morning or do it on your lunch hour, or perhaps it would be more convenient right before bedtime. The time and place don’t matter—the important thing is that you stick to it. As I mentioned before, I would encourage you to find the optimum part of the day for your best work. Perhaps you’re like me and find that the morning hours are the best time of your day. Other people are afternoon people, and some prefer “rock star hours” late at night.

I pursue growth at two levels: the business level and the leadership level. At the business level, I make it a point to stay up-to-date with my particular industry. You don’t have to know everything that goes on in your business, but keeping a working knowledge of the latest breakthroughs, news, and information is vital. To accomplish this, I keep a stack of trade magazines and publications next to my desk. Whenever I have any time to myself—in a doctor’s waiting room, on a plane, in a hotel, or waiting for an appointment, I’ll pick up a magazine and go through it. This isn’t in-depth reading, and it has more to do with “skimming” to look for trends, new ideas, and news. A well-designed RSS strategy is powerful as well. RSS allows you to scan multiple news sources, magazines, and blogs in a remarkably short time. In my case, I set up multiple RSS feeds on different subjects, so I can easily scan the latest information based on different areas of interest.

At the leadership level, I focus on publications and information that help me understand the bigger-picture issues, like vision, spirituality, motivation, and the greater business landscape. All of these ideas are poured into my online blog at philcooke.com.

This is also the fuel for my public speaking. Whether I’m conducting a small workshop or speaking at a major corporate event or conference, the time I spend at the leadership level of growth is a critical part of that preparation.

This category of growth is what drives me on a deep, personal level. This is the time I spend in private spiritual development, personal prayer, and reflection. This level is vital for me to confront my day with confidence, and when I can’t do it because of travel or other challenges, I can sense it in my performance, my relationships, and the quality of my work.

Only the curious will learn and only the resolute overcome the obstacles to learning. The quest quotient has always excited me more than the intelligence quotient.

—EUGENE S. WILSON, AMHERST COLLEGE

An important thing to realize about personal growth is that it’s not about intelligence. One of the biggest complaints I receive about personal growth is that people feel they’re not strong enough readers or don’t have the level of intelligence they think is required. But it’s not about intelligence at all—it’s about determination and curiosity.

Consider it a challenge, and if you’re ready to answer the challenge, the best will come out of you.

Growth is also the key to mastering your career or calling. There’s a great advertising story about shooting a soft drink commercial with Hall of Fame basketball star Larry Bird. The scene called for Larry to shoot a basket and miss the shot. But the scene had to be filmed more than seven times because he was such a great shot that even when he tried to miss,