WHO Do You Want to Be When You GROW Up?

Welcome to Seeds 4 Growth issue #11!

In each issue, I will use the “Higher Power of 4’s” to provide 4 “seeds” within a particular topic designed to inspire individuals, teams, and organizations to find purpose in fulfilling their true growth potential. And by doing so, grow leaders into living legacy builders who can make a positive, lasting impact in the world.

“It doesn’t matter if you work at a fast-food joint or if you are the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Your job title does not define your purpose. The size of your paycheck does not make you worthy. What makes you valuable is your contribution to the world and the legacy that you leave behind. Stop defining yourself by what you do and start defining yourself by who you are!”

— John Geiger, The Angel Effect

Within my #1 Best-Selling book, The Purposeful Growth Revolution: 4 Ways to Grow from Leader to Legacy Builder, I outline a holistic model for purposeful growth that features a LEAF as a natural symbol of growth as well as an acronym (Leadership, Engagement, Accountability, and Fulfillment) to help grow you 4-ward at work. As found in nature as well as in life, we go through various seasons of growth, transformation, harvest and regeneration.

Like a plant or tree, we are all (still) works in progress—ever growing into our life’s purpose. But first, let’s start with you.

As we think back to when we were kids, we were likely asked the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” This would elicit an aspirational response: “I want to be an astronaut!” or “…a doctor!” or “…a firefighter!” or some such noble and exciting vocation. But I believe the better question is, “Who do you want to be when you grow up?” This conjures up a much more complex and introspective examination of ourselves than we are typically ready for until we are much older.

In either case, we all know growth doesn’t happen overnight, at least not visibly. Like the fig tree in my backyard, measurable growth takes many seasons as evidenced by its rings. And each ring represents a unique year of the tree’s life—an annual revolution that consists of a series of events and experiences—possibly serving as a metaphor for our own life.

The best type of growth is purposeful growth.

As humans, each ring in our trunk represents not only a memory of our experiences, but an opportunity to learn things we can take on our journey to help improve and enrich our lives. In fact, our experiences matter little if we don’t internalize the lessons they teach us, which leads to true growth.

In my experience, there are 4 dimensions that provide a holistic, 360-degree view of who you are:

·????????Who you think you are

·????????Who you actually are

·????????Who others see you being

·????????Who you desire to become

Dimension 4—Who You Desire to Become

In previous newsletters, I’ve covered the first three of the 4 Dimensions of You, so we’ve saved the best for last. Obviously, you aspire to become a better version of you, or you wouldn’t have subscribed to this newsletter. But before we get started, I want to share these words of advice said by Steve Jobs just before he passed away:

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

What is your heart’s desire? Who do you want to become? And how badly do you want to get there? If you were to fulfill your true growth potential, what would that look like? Who would you be? What would you hope to accomplish? What living legacy can you create to help others along their growth journey and make a positive, lasting impact on the world? How might that relate to Who you serve—Spiritually, Relationally, Personally and Professionally? What would it be worth to you? How would you measure its value?

Yes, I know—there are certainly lots (and lots) of deeply reflective questions to ponder, but here’s quite possibly the most important question of all:

“What great thing would you attempt, if you knew you could not fail?”

— Anonymous

I have always loved this quote because it provides a unique perspective and challenges us to think big. However, I feel replacing a few key words would make the quote even more powerful. Given the fact the writer is anonymous, I’m sure they won’t mind.

“What great purpose would you fulfill, if you knew you could not fail?”

More than just “attempting a great thing,” which comes across as a somewhat vague, one-off activity, fulfilling our great purpose(s) is a life-long quest. Are you clear on what you desire the outcomes to be?

This list might include:

·????????Financial security

·????????Personal freedom

·????????Purpose fulfillment

·????????Growth and development

·????????More time with my family and friends

·????????Creating a “living” legacy

·????????Meeting others’ needs

·????????Other?

Now, let me turn this around and ask you an equally (if not more so) important question.

What will your life be like if you don’t find purpose in fulfilling your true growth potential?

·????????Financial insecurity

·????????Personal failure

·????????Squandering gifts/talents

·????????Surviving instead of thriving

·????????Letting family down

·????????Crippling regret

·????????Envying others

·????????Other?

“Someone once told me the definition of Hell; on your last day on earth, the person you could have been become will meet the person you became.”

— Anonymous

Ouch! That would certainly be an extremely unsettling image.

I know which direction I would choose—do you?

I also know finding your purpose and fulfilling your growth potential takes intentional work. You must have clarity about who you serve, why you exist, how you invest your gifts, and what you will do to get “there.”

My goal is to help you create a powerful and inspiring Purposeful Growth Plan that will accentuate your unique assets and equities in highly attractive ways that will add tremendous value to Who you serve.

To get started, I have 4 important questions for you:

Seeds 4 Growth

1. Do you have a clear focus on exactly Who you serve?

2. Do you have a Why—an inspiring Purpose that enriches your life and work?

3. Do you know How you are unique/different (your gifts or “Superpowers”)?

4. Do you know What you can do to establish a living legacy to impact others?

The new world of work is changing... on purpose.

Let’s put the “Human” back in Human Resources.

If you are interested in learning how you, your team, or your organization can find purpose in fulfilling your true growth potential, I would be delighted to work with you. Please visit my website at https://www.MarkAMears.com and let’s get growing.

The Purposeful Growth Revolution is ON!

Are you IN?