The 15 Invaluable Laws Of Growth Summary

1-Sentence-Summary: The 15 Invaluable Laws Of Growth will inspire you to get up and improve your life by showing you how change only happens when we actively nurture it and identifying the steps and strategies to thrive in your career and life.

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The 15 Invaluable Laws Of Growth Summary

Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror, or just sat there and wondered, “Is this really all there is to me?” You yearn to become better. You’re plagued by your past mistakes and failures and you want to be successful. But after multiple defeats, it’s hard to get back up again.

Personal growth is difficult, but it is possible. All you need is a guide. And who better to lead the way than self-improvement guru John Maxwell? His 15 laws for bettering your life are:

  1. Intentionality
  2. Awareness
  3. The Mirror
  4. Reflection
  5. Consistency
  6. Environment
  7. Design
  8. Pain
  9. Ladder
  10. Rubber Band
  11. Trade-Offs
  12. Curiosity
  13. Modeling
  14. Expansion
  15. Contribution

He dives into each of these in his book The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential. After reading this you will finally feel confident that you can change for good because you’ll know how to do it right.

Here are just 3 of the many helpful tips from this one by John Maxwell:

  1. Figure out your identity and what lights you up inside before you begin your personal growth journey.
  2. You’re never going to be ready to make the changes you’ve always wanted to, you have to actively pursue them.
  3. Patience is the key to having the kind of consistency that leads to massive personal growth.

Are you excited to get up and start living with intention? Let’s go!

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Lesson 1: Before you start, ask yourself questions to find out who you are and what inspires you.

How ridiculous would it sound if I told you that a group of people went on a road trip without any kind of map or GPS? Although we might think this is crazy, we ourselves to it too often with our goals. We wander aimlessly about, never really knowing where we even want to go, let alone the path to take. 

But to get there you first have to understand where you’re at. It’s not too difficult when you focus on asking yourself the right questions.

First, are you happy where you’re at right now? Do you feel happy and fulfilled at work? When you get up, are you excited about being alive? If not, then that’s the indication that you need to change.

Next, what will give you the type of life that makes you wake up happy? This involves discovering your dreams, values, and personality. Watch yourself carefully each day. Make note of the situations, work, or projects that really light you up inside. Also, consider times when your efforts for others made you feel valuable and useful.

Also, do a reality check once you discover these things about yourself. You won’t become a basketball player if you’re already in your 40s. And if you want to become a doctor for the money or prestige, that’s not motivation enough to keep you going for very long.

Lesson 2: The changes you want in your life aren’t going to happen by chance, you must have a proactive attitude to get them.

Nothing in the universe grows by chance. Plants must have sunlight, water, and soil. Your body has to have nutrients in the form of food. And your personal growth is the exact same way. 

The problem for many of us is that we forget this vital factor. We assume that somehow, the life we want will just magically happen. It’s easy to forget that nothing good has happened in the past without people getting up to make it happen!

Another problem in the way of your growth is the excuses you make. You’ve probably found yourself saying things like “If only I had the time I would…” or “when I get that raise I’ll…” The thing is, you’re never ready, and the best time is now. 

It’s easier to accept this when you realize that personal growth is never easy. It’s painful and not usually very fun. Although it can be more fun if we focus on what uplifts us rather than what drags us down!

Remember that when you begin, you’re going to be doing things you’re not good at because you’ve never done them before. That means that you’ll fail, and that’s okay! 

I hate the phrase “I suck at this!” because it’s never true. You don’t suck, you’re just inexperienced! It’s completely natural that you’ll stumble at first. 

The best thing you can do is keep going, even when you fall.

Lesson 3: You will only experience incredible personal growth after you’ve become consistent, and that requires patience.

I love Kung Fu Panda. My boy loves it too. In the first of the three movies, there’s a short training montage when the main character becomes a Kung Fu master in what appears to us as only a minute or so. 

I hate this part of the movie because it gives us one of the worst false impressions we can have-that personal growth is quick. And this is hardly the only movie to do this. It’s very common to see the slow stages get shrunk down.

There’s a reason they skip the long slog to become great. It’s because it’s often boring! But once you realize that and learn how to fight it, there’s nowhere that your self-improvement journey can’t take you!

Just admitting this fact is helpful enough. But it will also make a massive difference if you focus more on the process instead of the outcome. 

This is yet another reason why finding what you love to do and working at it is so important. When you’re enjoying the work of learning, it won’t matter to you how long it takes or how “boring” it may seem to everyone else! 

When you begin to get frustrated, which will inevitably happen regardless, you can keep the bigger picture in your mind to stick with it. Remember, the bigger the goal, the longer it takes to get there, but the reward is also larger too!

The 15 Invaluable Laws Of Growth Review

The 15 Invaluable Laws Of Growth is my kind of book! I love how inspired I feel after reading anything that John Maxwell writes, and this one is no exception to that. It’s actionable tips and motivational abilities are amazing and will help anyone get up and start their personal growth journey today!

Who would I recommend The 15 Invaluable Laws Of Growth summary to?

The 36-year-old who thinks they want to change careers but aren’t feeling very confident about it, the 51-year-old entrepreneur that would like some inspiration on how to grow their business, and anybody that wants to improve themself!

Last Updated on September 13, 2022

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Luke Rowley

With over 450 summaries that he contributed to Four Minute Books, first as a part-time writer, then as our full-time Managing Editor until late 2021, Luke is our second-most prolific writer. He's also a professional, licensed engineer, working in the solar industry. Next to his day job, he also runs Goal Engineering, a website dedicated to achieving your goals with a unique, 4-4-4 system. Luke is also a husband, father, 75 Hard finisher, and lover of the outdoors. He lives in Utah with his wife and 3 kids.