March 2006

Establishing growth for success

by Dr. Dennis Nikitow

I remember years ago when I was in school, listening to soon‑to‑become doctors talking about getting out of school so they didn't have to study so hard, building their practices to a level of steady income, and coasting the rest of the way through life.

Although it sounded logical, it didn't fit with what my dad had taught me i.e. "If you know your purpose in life, and you enjoy your work, why would you retire from it? Learn as much as you can, because you will never carry it on your shoulders as a burden." In short, my dad taught me to never stop growing throughout my life.

The truth is, people who choose to stop growing will never reach their full potential. What separates successful and unsuccessful people, is their desire to reach their potential through consistent growth. Without growth we flatten out and get bored. However, continual growth brings contentment and happiness. If you want to dedicate your life to personal growth, adopt the following principles:

1. Make a commitment to lifetime growth. You must make growth a responsibility or it will never happen. The first place to start is with yourself. You can grow in things outside of yourself, but amazingly, when you improve yourself, everything around you gets better. Strive for self‑development which is the development of your highest potential to accomplish the purpose you were created for. This will move you toward your destiny.

2. Don't be complacent. Today's success can be an enemy of tomorrow's success. Sometimes when you accomplish a goal, it has the same effect as believing you know it all, and takes away your desire to goal forward. Successful people don't just sit back and rest on their laurels. They know that both winning and losing is temporary and to be successful you have to keep growing.

Settling into a comfort zone is a sure way to deflate success. The key is to stay hungry, and use every accomplishment as a stepping stone to more growth.

Enjoy success and be happy about achievements, but realize there is more out there in God's plan for you so don't take success for granted. Which brings us to our next point.

3. Keep learning. Feed your mind, and feed it with good, productive food. Read books articles, quotes, and listen to tapes to identify concepts and principles to use towards your life's purpose and goals. Your mind will store knowledge as references to draw upon later. If you want growth in a positive direction you have to feed your mind the right stuff. Be careful and remember growth can occur in a negative direction also.

4. Be teachable. Be careful that the amount of knowledge you've acquired doesn't give you the false assumption that you know it all. Maintain humility for growth. No matter how much you know or how good of an expert you are, you don't know everything. To continue to grow and insure your success, remain a lifetime student.

5. Develop a growth plan. Start by writing down three‑to‑five areas you wish to develop based on your dreams and goals. Next, search out resources to help you grow such as books, articles, tapes, and videos. Lastly, set aside time for your growth. Earl Nightingale said, "If a person will spend an hour a day on the same subject for five years, that person will be an expert at the subject."

6. Apply your learning. The most important thing in life is not how much you learn, but how much you act with what you learn. Massive action on limited knowledge will always win over limited action with massive knowledge. My pastor gave me some very valuable advice in this area. He said, "God cannot direct a stationary object."

What makes a winner is the persistence of trying over and over, failure after failure. Each "try" is growth. I once heard Mike Ditka say, "You're never a failure unless you stop trying." If you stop trying, it is impossible to grow.

In conclusion, create an environment in your life for growth. Surround yourself with people you can learn from. Focus through the windshield not the rear view mirror. If you focus on the past more than the future, your growth will stop. Dare to risk, to do something bigger than you've ever done. Be willing to change. It's the price you pay for progress.

Making growth a desire, a commitment and a habit will insure your success, happiness and fulfillment in your life and practice.

(To learn about the Certainty System, Certainty Practice Products and Dr. Dennis Nikitow's upcoming seminar schedule, call 800‑544‑3884. Outside the US, 303‑721‑6202.)