Laws 7-9

We are continuing our study of John Maxwell’s The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth by looking at laws 7-9 today. If you missed last week’s article, check out laws 4-6 in the previous post.  If you did catch it, how are you doing with incorporating your new daily changes that will lead to growth?

The set of laws we are examining today include:

7. The Law of Design

8. The Law of Pain

9. The Law of the Ladder

The Law of Design: Get momentum with growth by use of strategy

Most people just let life happen to them, constantly reacting and adjusting, rather than being proactive and designing the life that they want.

Here are a few of the life lessons Maxwell has learned about being intentional with your life:

• Keep things simple. Know your values and let those values guide your decisions.
• Designing your career is second to designing your life.
• Life is not a dress rehearsal!
• Multiply what you think something will take x 2, whether it’s time or money.
• Depend on systems. Maxwell dives deep into exploring examples of systems.

How would you describe your approach to your life? Have you been intentional in designing your path? Do you know what you would like your life to look like in five years? Ten years? Twenty years? Plans can change, of course, but it is better to design a rough draft and adjust as you go, rather than let random circumstances or other people design your life.

The Law of Pain: Bad experiences can lead to growth

Maxwell says on p. 128 that he wrote the book Failing Forward because he believes what separates people who thrive from those who merely survive is how they deal with their problems.

He shares 12 specific types of pain he has experienced throughout his life with which you might relate and has suggestions for how you might turn your pain into gain:

• Choose to be positive in the situation
• Lean into your creativity- think outside the box
• Find the value in the experience
• Learn the lesson and make changes
• Take responsibility for your life

How would you rate your attitude when you have experienced setbacks in your life? How would you rate your ability to think of a creative solution? Can you list the life lessons you have learned from tough experiences? Did you make the needed changes when necessary?

The Law of the Ladder: Character growth determines the height of your personal growth

Talent, appearance, who you know, education, a series of wins…each of these can take you to the top, but without strong character, your glory will not endure. Character matters.

“Rungs” on Maxwell’s Character Ladder include:

• Focus on what’s inside (character) more than what’s on the outside
• Follow the Golden Rule
• Don’t be a hypocrite- teach what you believe
• Value Humility
• Finish well, be faithful

Where would you say you have put most of your focus- your inside or your outside? Do you practice serving others? If not, what are some ways you could give of your time and talents? Would others say you are a humble person? Is it important to you to be the best person you can be?

As we conclude laws 7-9, think about how you can apply some change in your daily life from each of these laws.

Join me next time for our continued study of Maxwell’s laws as we examine laws 10-12: The Law of the Rubber Band, The Law of Trade Offs, and The Law of Curiosity.

-Jan Jones

Check out John Maxwell’s short video about character!