Experience, Application, and the Tremendous Call to Grow

Hello Tremendous Friends,

Last week, we explored the 72-hour rule: Apply or Die . My father, Charlie "Tremendous" Jones, put it plainly—Use it or lose it . It’s a simple but profound truth: Without application, experience is hollow. Some claim to have “20 years of experience,” but in reality, they’ve had one year’s experience repeated 20 times.

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I was reminded of this recently during a webinar with Major General Suzanne Vautrinot, USAF (Ret). She shared the Rule of Five: Every person should have five leaders pouring into them and five followers they are pouring into. But here’s the catch—if you’re not growing yourself, you can’t pour into others. Leadership is all about reproducing other leaders. Stagnation isn’t just a personal setback; it leaves those you lead starving for growth.

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This mirrors the warning in Hebrews 5:12-14, where the Apostle Paul urges believers to move beyond spiritual “milk” and embrace “meat”—a deeper, more mature understanding of their faith. It’s not enough to remain a baby Christian, always taking and never sustaining growth on your own. The same is true for leaders.

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During my doctoral research , I asked participants to rate their need for development on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest. Seeing leaders rank themselves at the lower end of the scale was discouraging. Their reasons? “I’m a certain age and don’t need further certifications,” “I’m close to retirement,” or “I’m comfortable where I am.”

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But comfort is the enemy of growth. If you’re not getting better as a leader, you’re not equipping your followers—they’ll eventually seek another leader willing to invest in their development. Whether you’re a Christian, a parent, or a professional, the goal should always be to strive for excellence:

• As a Christian, you should want to be the best reflection of Christ.
• As a parent, you should do everything possible to be the most incredible parent possible.
• As a leader, you should strive for the highest education, professionalism, and integrity.

When I was a young manager, I read and studied because I had a need to know. Now that I’m in leadership, I read and study because I have a need to grow. And that mindset shift has made all the difference.

As Muhammad Ali famously said, “The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.” Growth transforms not just how we see the world but also how we lead, inspire, and empower others.

So, what will you do this week to grow? Will you seek out a new mentor? Invest in your own development? Pour into someone else’s life? Leadership—and life—demand it. Because as I said in Beyond Tremendous: Raising the Bar on Life , “The status quo has got to go.” Let’s refuse to settle for less than our best and keep living a truly tremendous life.

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Keep growing, applying, and leading, Dr. Tracey