The plant to the left was given to me by my wife in May of 2001. The plant was about 8 inches (20.32 cm) tall and was in a pot that was also about 8 inches tall. Now the plant is over 24 inches (60.96 cm) tall and was recently transplanted into a pot that is over 13 inches (33.02 cm) tall. This plant has survived various transplants from one pot to another. The plant would grow and fill the capacity of the container. Then growth would stagnate and leaves would start to turn yellow at first, then brown and begin to die. The plant had adequate water, food, and sunlight, but it would still turn yellow and brown in various areas. The plant was simply too big for the pot. Upon the transplant into a bigger container, the plant would flourish again. The leaves would become all green and new growth would begin to appear.

Your mind and your reality are much like this plant, in the aspect of growth. The pot is representative of your limiting beliefs, comfort zone, and educational limits. And the plant is representative of your mind. When you begin in business, your mind is full of ideas and it is ready to grow. However, much like a plant you must create firm roots upon which you build your beliefs and knowledge. For if you have weak roots, your plant will not grow very big before it comes tumbling down. As you learn through education and experience your roots will become stronger. There will come a time when you will reach capacity. Complacency sets in  and you are not as willing to venture outside your comfort zone. Your education movement begins to dissipate and you get stuck in the daily grind. You lose site of the wondrous goals you initially set. The world around you has helped you to set your current limiting beliefs. You are stagnate. Your leaves will begin to turn yellow and then brown. You may be doing all of the fundamentals correctly in your business. But, so are many other entrepreneurs in your market segment.

Metaphorically speaking, you need a bigger pot. Constantly challenge your limiting beliefs. Limiting beliefs are ones that hold you back from growth. The type of belief that speaks negatively to you in your mind. That pessimistic inner voice. If you want to try something, your limiting belief will be the voice telling you that “you can’t do that, it can’t be done, or if it is that simple someone has already thought of it.” Everyone, including your truly, has limiting beliefs. I am not attempting to coerce you into obliterating all of your limiting beliefs. I am telling you to constantly challenge them. Some will stay in place, others will stretch, and some will simply break allowing you to move forward.

You need to get outside of your comfort zone. Throughout your daily life you will arrive upon situations which will make you feel uncomfortable. Your reaction will be to withdraw and avoid the situation or ask someone else to take care of it. Stepping outside your comfort zone can be difficult. But once you do it the first time, your second and subsequent times will become easier. Henrik Edberg at The Positivity Blog wrote in an article to “start each day with doing the hardest/ most important/ most uncomfortable thing first.” This is good advice. You begin each day by stepping a little outside your comfort zone. After a while, it becomes routine to step outside of your comfort zone and you put yourself on a path for continuous personal growth.

Expand your mind and continue to learn. Read or listen to books, watch educational films, attend seminars, volunteer with or for others that have the skill set and knowledge that you seek. With today’s communications network, it is easy to find information on virtually any topic for which you seek additional knowledge. We live in The Information Age. The last age was the industrial one and we have migrated from a focus on production to a focus on information aggregation and trafficking. In The Information Age, knowing more or something unique and different can catapult you ahead. By the same token, lack of knowledge can be a roadblock that inhibits your forward motion. Many people get ahead simply because they know something. They know the rules and how to play the game. Knowledge liberates rather than inhibits them. This is one of the reasons I advocate to surround yourself with smart and educated people (on both your corporate and your professional team). Your accountant knowing tax code, your attorney knowing the law, your manager knowing a more efficient process will all lead to further growth in your education.

Never stop growing your mind or expanding your comfort zone. Continuously challenge your limiting beliefs and break through the barriers. Your mind will continue to grow as long as it has room to do so. It is up to you whether or not you will wither and stagnate or expand into a bigger pot and continue to grow.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 at 7:56 am and is filed under Education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.