Growing Success

Today let's start with a reflection: How do you define success?
And once you've defined it, how do you grow it?
And once it has grown, how do you measure it?

It's something keynote speaker Thomas Hoerr asked last week at the True Colors Conference, and it has me thinking. A lot. About that one little word. Success. 
He told us that what we measure is what we value. So the question becomes, 
"What do we value?"

I'm reading his book about cultivating success skills now; 
click the image for more information.


I took a lot of notes of the key points he made:

1. IQ contributes 20% of the factors that determine success.
2. Willpower is a skill that can be taught.
3. Scholastics should be the floor, not the ceiling.
4. Honesty is reactive; integrity is proactive.
5. Who you are is more important that what you know.
6. He suggested brushing our teeth with our non-dominant hand, 
to see how it feels and what it takes to change a habit.
7. Look up this story about Walt Bettinger. It's not one I'll soon forget.
8. He referenced the Stanley Miligram study of obedience. Wow.
9. He said to ask kids what someone else might want for a birthday gift, to get them stepping into another's shoes and to elevate empathy.
10. "Empathy is the most important back-to-school supply for teachers." 
~Homar Tavangar 

His wisdom continued to point to the important, life-changing power of connections and relationships.

He also encouraged us to look up the Values Card sort.
So I did. Here's a digital version.
How might you use this activity to get to know yourself, 
your students, your staff, and your stakeholders better?

Don't you just love a thought-provoking keynote?

So back to success. Every seed he planted was meant to grow us. To help us get just a little bit closer to our personal success. To be the best version of us that we can be. He challenged us to move from me to we to maximize our growth. 
To cultivate and harvest success. 
Because together we're better. 
No question.

Have you seen this Make Defeat Your Fuel Gatorade commercial?
You won't want to miss it; it's a powerful example about the power in sharing our disappointments and failures. That's how we develop grit, by persevering through the challenges to come out successfully victorious. So we can go on to the next challenge. It has to challenge us in order to change us.


So, I'll end with a growth challenge:
Define success.
Plant seeds of success.
Nourish, fertilize, and grow your success.
Plan then write down how you'll measure that success.

'Water' you waiting for?; 
here's to a swimmingly successful new year of growth and grit.





No comments

I really enjoy hearing from my readers; thanks for sharing your reflections with us!