ISAAC MACHISA
ELEANOR Roosevelt had this strong belief that, “One’s philosophy is not expressed in words; but in the choices one makes. In the long run those choices shape our lives and ourselves.” This quote literally suggests that you have choices in how you plan your life.
Agreeing to this statement, in his book “The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth”, leadership expert John Maxwell points out that personal growth does not just happen; you must choose to grow and have a plan for it.
Here are keys to personal growth.
(1) Discover your purpose.
Most of us have no clue what we want to do with our lives. Even after finishing school or getting a job.  Today people jump from one career to the other just to find fulfillment of some sort.
Here is the truth. Discovering purpose is key to living a life of impact and fulfillment. This means that you must understand the reason for your existence because your greatness is tied to your purpose. You were created to fulfil a unique purpose.
When God created you he loaded you with gifts, talents and traits that will have positive effect on your family, friends, community and your nation even the world at large. But oftentime we are too busy trying so hard to copy the lives of others. In the long run we become irrelevant to the world.
A quote attributed to Lee Jun-fan one of the most influential martial artists of all time fondly known as Bruce Lee is, “be yourself and express yourself. Do not look for a successful personality to duplicate.”  I believe what Bruce Lee is saying is discovering your purpose is critical to success. Your purpose will define you.
(2)  Know your time.
One of the most vital and crucial things that you must first of all understand is time.  When you understand the time, it will help prevent you from making a lot of mistakes and unwise decisions.
Most of the people who needed to change the course of things in life failed to do so because they launched out before their time. Hence, make sure you know the set time to your dream. Before your time comes you will be in what is called moment of obscurity. These are times when you know you are gifted, talented and yet you produce nothing. Nobody seems to give you a chance.  Take time to prepare and work on yourself. Be ready before you get noticed. Never rush into things you are not ready for or mature enough to handle.
(3) Resolve to keep learning
Brian Herbert an American author has this to say about leaning, “the capacity to learn is a gift, the ability to learn is a skill but the willingness to learn is a choice.”  The resolution is to reignite  your passion for curiosity and become a continuous learner. It is important to have an unrelenting quest for continuous learning because you have a lot to learn. The life you live in itself is a teacher. That’s why Mahatma Ghandi  said “ live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
(4) Meet the right people.
The key here is to identify people that are connected to your destiny. You cannot become great without the input of other people. Every great person at some point met certain people that ushered them in their greatness. Politicians for instance, know the people to engage with in order to achieve their goals. You need to share your dream only with destiny helpers.
(5) Choose excellence
“The one ingredient that turns the ordinary to extraordinary is merely a commitment to excellence,” says Terry Yoffe, a professional development coach. She believes excellence in whatever we do, be it in our career or business simply requires that we constantly produce results beyond the ordinary and always going beyond our limits. This will change your results to that of having the quality of life in which you thrive and grow, rather than believing that an average or mediocre result is acceptable.
Make excellence your lifestyle or habit and not a once off act. It must be part of everything you do. In whatever you are doing always strive to do better. Excellence attracts!
(6) Read to lead
Invest in books and read as many books as possible if you want to be the best at what you do. Knowledge is power. But don’t just end there, you must apply what you know for you to make impact in life. Look for powerful books to propel you into success. Some of the powerful books worthy reading for those seeking growth are:
• The 7 habits of highly effective people: Stephen Covey
• In pursuit of purpose / Understanding your potential: Myles Munroe
• Think and Grow Rich: Napoleon
• The Alchemist: Paolo Coecho.
The author is a pastor, Motivational speaker and mentor.