Each day I find myself taking time to reflect on my personal growth journey.  I use that time to read and take note of the actions many have take and the advice that has been place before me to help me in my journey.  I have become very intentional, also, about opening my heart to listen to the path God continues to lay before my feet.  Every step of my journey through life and work has been another step in the pathway He has laid out.  They all build upon each other as a preparation for fulfilling my life purpose.  This goes for everyone.  Every decision to get up and go to work, to go to school, and everything in between on that journey is all a building block.  Many of us find ourselves taking a journey that may not seem like the path that was intended.  It all builds toward your ultimate purpose though.  God has granted us the free will to make decision on our path and we have to choose whether to listen to where he leads us or to take a different route that does not reach that ultimate purpose.

In my thinking today, I looked back on things I wrote a couple of years back.  This was a time, when I was really questioning my path life.  I had lost my Dad a year prior in a horrible car accident, and I was still reeling from the effects of the dark shadow that was cast from that event.  I reflected on talking to my older brother Rob, who had asked me after we had finished a workout, what is it that I want to be remembered for.  Part of my answer was that I wanted to be someone that can make an impact on the lives of others.  When I think about it though, I think what I said in 2010 very valid in the direction I am taking now as I build this platform to impact lives.

I also took time to look back on notes that I took at a book launch event for John Maxwell in October and his “15 Invaluable Laws of Growth.”  One of his laws is the “Law of the Mirror.”  This law states that you must see value in yourself to add value to yourself.  Two years ago, that journey may not have meant as much to me.  Today, I really see the importance of that statement.  All too often,  people fail to see their real value in themselves and don’t capitalize on making the most out of their potential.  They find it easy to stay complacent in their role because they do not believe in themselves and their value enough to grow further.  If you find yourself in that spot, and believe me, I have been there, you have to know that there is always room for further personal growth and that if you listen to Him in your heart, God will help you find that value in yourself put you on that path to growth spiritually and in work and life.

While driving today, I was listening to an audio CD today with Dan and Joann Miller as they reflected on their journey together in “Living, Loving, and Working.”  There was a great deal that took from that, first that applies and mirrors the life Amber and I have led in our lives together.  I will reflect on that in later writings, but one thing Dan closed with was from Earl Nightingale’s “The Strangest Secret” which is on my reading list.  The point that was mentioned was that “A man becomes what he thinks about.”  This is important because it also ties into the concept of what value we see in ourselves and our growth journey.  Start thinking of ways you can succeed in your life journey to answer God’s calling.  The more you think about it, I also believe that you will get there.  Think about it, not just in reflection to yourself but also talk about it with others, maybe your spouse, and most definitely, think about it by talking to God.  This will help open the path for you.

Me, I have been on a path of growth for many years.  Each step has brought me to where I am now, and I have found that avenue to realize everything I have worked for and unleash my full potential in life, love, work, and spiritually.   You can get yourself on that path as well, no matter what it is.  We all have a purpose under God and we can all find that purpose and realize that purpose through intentional growth.