HABITS FOR EXPONENTIAL GROWTH
Habits create momentum
Whether you realize it or not, the three main words that make up this title are incredibly powerful words. Any one of these words, Habits, Exponential & Growth, would be sufficient as a stand-alone topic for a deep-dive discussion.
But when these words are put together, the end result of combining the right actions on a consistent basis to create exponential growth is infinite. With each new habit you adopt, you will notice progress being made towards your goals. In fact, successful adoption of the appropriate habit increases your confidence in you, which then allows you to take on more habits to enable even more progress to take on bigger tasks and on-and-on. Your belief in you is absolutely paramount to your success!
The Domino Effect
Have you ever lined up a bunch of dominos on end and then pushed the first one over to start a chain reaction? Can you picture that in your head? When you think about the power of implementing these three words into your life, get a picture of a line of progressively larger dominoes standing on end…where each domino is 50% larger than the one before it. With the average domino being approximately 2 inches tall, the first domino can topple the next domino even though it’s 50% larger or 3 ½ inches tall. If you follow this pattern where each successive domino is 50% larger, the tenth domino will still be knocked over even though it stands an impressive 6’4 inches tall.
The first line of dominos we discussed were all the same height, 2 inches. When you set up a domino train of all the same size and push the first one over, the action taking place can represent what I call Linear Growth. The second line, where each domino is 50% larger than the one before it, better represents Exponential Growth. Most business owners and sales people are working hard, staying busy and taking action but only getting linear growth type results. Action is happening but not ever-increasing results.
I assume if you were satisfied with the typical linear growth, you would not still be reading this? Exponential growth is an intentional practice of investing in yourself and your team. The number one barrier to exponential growth is how one thinks. When you get clear on what you want, it’s amazing what you begin to see. Things once hidden are now clear.
In reality, they were never really hidden. Put simply, YOU are either the limiting factor OR the breakthrough factor. You can’t expect things to change until you do. Every choice you make opens up a whole new list of decisions. The list of options available following an “I can’t” choice is a different set than what follows an “I can” or an “I will” choice. You don’t have things in your life because things aren’t available…you don’t have things because you have self-limiting thinking. It often takes an outside, objective party to help you identify and challenge limited thinking. Resources ARE available!
Unless you can literally visualize yourself already at _____________”, you must rely on luck to play a major role in reaching that goal. If you continue to do the same thing you’ve always done, you’ll continue to get what you always got. You simply cannot stay the same AND reach new heights. To step into the best season of your life and achieve your goals and dreams, you need to adopt healthy habits.
Habits you may have once labeled as fanatical may be the very habits that announce your breakthrough.
Things such as:
I once thought it fanatical to spend time every day reviewing my goals
I once thought it fanatical to review my “why” on a regular basis
I once thought it fanatical to spend 5–10% of my income on personal growth
I once thought it fanatical to hire an outside professional coach
I once thought it fanatical to implement an Early Morning Success Ritual
I once thought it fanatical to create a disciplined night-time routine
I once thought it fanatical to record myself talking to myself and playing it back to Myself
I could go on and on about what I have found necessary to change to create momentum in my life. Bottom line: I had a greater fear of staying the same than a fear of looking stupid by introducing new patterns and processes of success into my life. Again, there is no shortage of resources for those ready to grow, you just have to ask.
Looking for Better Answers?
Long before any top titles on TED talks, keynote speeches, books or podcasts…and way before personal development or self-help was ever a thing, I heard that if you wanted better answers, you had to ask better questions. From a commonsense perspective, this always seemed logical to me. I also heard there were no stupid questions.
But come on, there really are a lot of stupid questions out there. They are usually asked by those not paying attention in the first place…where they ask a question that was answered earlier but they were too busy multitasking (which science has debunked by the way) because they feel like they can. You know the type. The meeting is clearly over and everyone is ready to go with the exception of the one person in the room that just has to keep asking questions (that’s not you I hope!). Fortunately for you and me, we aren’t going to discuss stupid questions here. Instead, I want to dig into the real power behind asking better questions. Logic and common- sense insists that if you ask a great question, it demands a great answer.
Conversely, if you ask a vague question, it warrants a vague answer. All these years, I thought it was as simple as that. If you ask a question in an elementary fashion, you’ll get an elementary level response. AND if you ask your question in rocket-science terms, you’ll get an answer in kind. But there is actually a lot more to it than this overly simplistic description of the power of better questions.
Our minds were created to solve questions. Our minds are naturally inquisitive. What parent hasn’t been worn out with the incessant “why, why, why” — a bottomless pit of some variation of “why is…” or “why does…” Questions are how we learn…but we need to make sure we are asking the right type of questions. Questions, in reality, are quite literally affirming your present and projecting your future.
As I’m learning, your questions give insight into the direction of your life. To “affirm” something (your present or your future) actually means “to make firm”. This is incredibly important because your questions will support or “make firm” your current level of thinking. The quality of your thoughts (your questions) last week/last month/last ________ , has brought you to where you are today.
Today’s questions will frame tomorrow’s results. A question frames our innermost thoughts for all to hear and see. A question gives clues as to our current state of mind and our current state of mind dictates our future. So, the quality of your questions creates either a future riddled with lack or a future heaped with Abundance.
Since our minds are the MOST powerful resource on this planet, it only makes sense that we learn how to leverage its strengths. Again, our mind was designed to solve the questions it’s presented with. Further, it actually seeks to solve, to affirm, in the same manner in which the question is asked.
For example, if I were to say “Why can’t I keep good people on my team?” Your mind sets out “to make firm” that question. That question becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy…and you will indeed have a very difficult time keeping good people on your team. Or how about this one,
“I don’t know why I can’t land those big accounts?”. Again, you’ll find it near impossible to land those big accounts because you, with your own words, posed a question your mind will do its best to affirm. Your mind is simply solving the equation in the fashion in which it was presented.
If, however, you take control of your thoughts and intentionally begin to ask better questions, would things change? Could things change? For example, “Why am I so good at keeping great people on my team?” or “Why am I so good at landing those big accounts?” Is it beyond the realm of possibility that posing better questions could produce better results?
While this may seem a bit out there to you, maybe it’s so crazy it just might work. Maybe it’s one of those “fanatical habits” I talked about in the last article. In my experience, like begets like. Negative thoughts (questions) beget negative results. Positive thoughts (questions) beget positive results. This part is NOT rocket science.
For a much deeper explanation and study on this topic, please checkout (purchase or download today) “The Secret Code of Success” by Noah St. John. Remember, you not having the things in your life that you want is not because those things aren’t available. I believe it’s because you’re asking the wrong questions.
Resources are available to/for those ready to grow. The late Jim Rohn used to say, “Don’t wish things were easier, wish you were better.” If I can help or can point you to additional resources for you or your team, just let me know.