Where the Path Ends and the Forest Begins
The only way to change your future is to step off the path and step into the forest. No one is going to do it for you.
A fixed mindset congeals your future in the past.
The great tragedy of leadership is being so busy leading that you neglect your own development.
Where the path ends and the forest begins:
#1. Concept versus reality: The concept of growth is easier than the reality.
Growth requires:
- Not knowing.There’s nowhere to grow if you already know.
- Making mistakes. Success solidifies who you are. Failure changes you.
- Feeling like an impostor. You have to try on new behaviors to ignite growth.
We never grow until we do something we’ve never done.
#2. Relationship: You’re where you are today because you let someone change your leadership.
The people who change us:
- Often reach out to us first. We don’t find them. They find us. Be watchful and open.
- Seek our best interests. The people who change us aren’t self-serving.
- Speak uncomfortable truths. You wouldn’t intentionally hit yourself in the face, but it’s not unusual for leaders to sincerely hinder their own progress.
You grow in community. Growth always includes quiet reflection, but long-term isolation strangles your future.
- Hang with people who are growing.
- Say yes to someone who pushes you into discomfort. Growth results from engaging in new activities with someone. You behave your way into the leader you hope to become.
- Evaluate experiences after, not during. Don’t judge quickly. Effective reflection and evaluation take time.
#3. Gaps: Growth happens in the gap between achievement and aspiration.
Most leaders want to grow, but not everyone wants to step from the known into the unknown.
Growth occurs where the path ends and the forest begins. You can’t grow and cling to the comfort of the status quo.
What has ignited your growth?
How might you ignite growth in others?
👍
Good start to my morning. Thanks for the post today Dan! Here’s my “To Do List” for today: Get outside comfort zone 🙂
Thanks Christopher. I feel you!
ALL of this is so true. Thanks Dan. Great reminder to myself and great logic to bring to others, who do isolate and resist discomfort.
Back in January you posted about the new year and ‘discomfort’. I shared that with staff and went so far as to request they make me uncomfortable during the year. They have responded and as a result I have had new challenges, new experiences and been pushed to new ways of thinking. It has been my busiest time, but also my most rewarding.
Discomfort is hopefully becoming comfortable…. 😉
Thanks Will. Congratulations! Great approach. I believe the people around us are essential in the process. Even though they might be ‘irritating’ some times. Best for the journey and thanks for sharing.
PS…I imagine that once you model the way, enjoying discomfort goes up, down, and all around. .. in many directions, not just to you. 🙂
Thank you for this today! I am currently facing many exciting but uncomfortable endeavors requiring me to step into new areas of leadership – and learning. Your post today is equally challenging, encouraging, and reassuring. Thanks for all you do in bringing leadership wisdom to us everyday!
Thanks Karen. Congratulations! I hope you’ve found some folk to walk with you on the journey.
Best wishes for success.
My grandfather said he used kerosene lamps at night to walk to the barn. Sometimes he could only see 3 or 4 steps ahead. If you don’t walk, that’s all you ever see. You have to take the first step to see the next one out further.
Thanks Duane. LOVE it!! Great illustration. Boy the world stays small if you don’t take that next step. Love, “You have to take the first step to see the next one out further.”
I just registered a new company by doing it myself instead of letting another company do it on my behalf. Each step I took was just scary and challenging, but I kept walking anyway.
Even though it felt great to finally receive my documents – my latest challenge now is that it looks like all my potential customers are about to give me the run for my money. Still walking though… 😃
Nice one Duane!
Well said Duane. Your grandfather truly made it look simple. Great man indeed.
Dan
I was with a high growth, private company in Ohio that I helped sell to a ten times bigger public company in Chicago. The new bigger firm offered us an good but not great sounding job in Chicago. And I had just got married to someone with a lot of family in Ohio. And I was one year into a two year MBA program.
My sister quoted Heller Keller “life is a journey or nothing at all”.
We took the chance and it was the best move personally, professionally and financially for both of us.
Brad
Brad James, author The Business Zoo
One path to Growth is appreciating the errors we make, because often they are the only moments in our journey that we actually LEARN.
What a powerful post. Purposefully submitting to the unknown is a leadership practice that never really becomes easy – and nor should it be – but it’s the mark of a real and inspiring leader – how often do we see leaders who only want and expect success in every action, at every turn?
Great article Dan. Your points about not knowing, mistakes and feeling like an imposter are so true. Often we build up the fear to a point where it is crippling. When you move past it into growth and overcome these you realise they were not the big deal you were making them out to be.
surely motivating post for all…its really a great article..its true if we want to achieve something we have to travel alone and in that we will face many problems but what we have to do we don’t loose our passions and work on it until we get it…..awesome post with strong view points
Fully agreed, Dan – change not to mention growth is truly challenging and you need to focus on the task ahead than criticize your current “uncomfortable” situation, to experience the full benefit of growth.
And it’s amazing how frustrating it is to enter into the unknown trenches after long periods of busking on the glory of your previous leadership successes. Indeed growth can only happen when we start afresh by taking a trip on an unexpected journey, while allowing ourselves to be mentored in the process.
Great article as always, Dan!