I don’t think this image could be more perfect. I feel like sometimes I should be changing and growing personally and professionally at a natural rate (like that of the human body), but it doesn’t always work that way (Sometimes, I have to force myself to grow).

Unlike our physiological makeup, our professions, hobbies, muscles, and sometimes even relationships will not grow to the best they can be without a little extra push from ourselves. I think this is how it should be! If we didn’t have to push ourselves to be the best we can be in all areas of life, everyone would be absolutely amazing at everything. At that point, their would be no competition in life, no reasons to try harder, and life would be equal for the lazy and non lazy alike. I think the ‘Pushing yourself to grow’ mindset works like a filter between the people that want ‘it’ (whatever the word “it” is) but think ‘it’s unattainable (so the don’t try) and the people that will do anything to get their ‘it’.

I feel like this mindset is an invisible field that doesn’t even need to be talked about, we can just tell when someone is either more motivated or less motivated than we are. It says a lot about a person if you know they have succeeded in areas of their life that may not come to them easily. I strive for this mindset everyday (be the best I can, even in extremely difficult situations)! The following example may help explain this idea:

I HATE public speaking…and I am forcing myself to do it, to improve myself, for myself. There are a lot of ‘myself’s in that last sentence, and that’s because no one else is going to make me better, it’s up to me. I have an opportunity right now to contract out with a business that I used to manage the sales team for, Computer Hardware Inc. I am assisting them with their educational sales across the state of Nebraska. The main role that I have for Computer Hardware, is providing group demonstrations (public speaking) about a product called ‘mimio interactive‘ (an interactive whiteboard of sorts for schools and businesses).

Every time I do a demonstration with an organization, school, or business, Computer Hardware gets exclusive rights to sell the mimio products to this customer for life. This is a big deal! It means that the more places I do demonstrations, the more sales Computer Hardware will have forever without doing a lot of additional foot work.

Now this sounds like an awesome deal for Computer Hardware (It is, and I only bill them an hourly rate of $15 an hour), so why am I involved with a company that I am technically ‘working’ for, at an inexpensive hourly rate, doing something that I hate? The main reason is because I HATE public speaking! [The other reasons, they're like family to me and it puts cash in my pocket]
How do people get better at things in life that they aren’t good at…They practice. That is exactly what I’m doing, forcing myself to practice to become a better public speaker.

I don’t have to do this job. There are plenty of people in the state of Nebraska that would like to be hired as a sales rep for Computer Hardware. And I could very easily avoid public speaking for the rest of my life (just making up excuses about “having something to go to” every time it came up).  But, I know that I am going to be someone, someday, that will need to have great communication skills in personal and public settings, and this a chance for me to get a head start on the practice I need.

How long will I do the public speaking demonstrations for Computer Hardware? I’ve asked myself that question many times and I decided that it depends on my public speaking comfort level (if I’m super comfortable, I’ll stop), if the demos stop coming to me (and I’m not getting enough practice, I will need to find another avenue to get the time in), or if I’m ready to find other opportunities that are a bigger challenge for me than public speaking, then I will stop.

To sum it up, I will always push myself to grow and if I sense something stagnate or underdeveloped in my life, I will make the much needed change (no matter how painful it may be). I must be the best I can be, for my businesses, my wife, and myself! I’ll let you know how it’s going in a couple months or so…Until then, push the fears my way (except for the shark attacks, you can keep them…Yikes !

Remember if you do not keep yourself moving, you will become stagnate and rotten.
I Challenge you to have an awesome day & to push yourself to be better in an area that you know you struggle in.
~Chais Meyer