The Future is Now

Do you have so much going on in your life right now that you can’t even fathom thinking about the future, setting any long-term goals, or being intentional about your growth? Well as I was facilitating a recent leadership mastermind on the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell, I began to see that several participants were in this hectic space. Life was happening and it was happening BIG and FAST!!!

I always give my mastermind participants things to reflect on and do in between our sessions. At the end of our first week, I asked participants to reflect on how they wanted to grow in their leadership and apply the Law of the Lid to their life, so that they could increase their effectiveness by growing their leadership ability. I had them to at look how they wanted to grow in the next 90-days, in 2014, as well as begin to think about a longer term goal of 3-5 years.

As we began to debrief their reflections in week two, one participant shared that she was going through a major transition in her job and couldn’t possibly think about the next 90-days. She would need to focus on a longer term goal. The comment struck me. After she shared more about the details of her career transition, we had a great conversation of why NOW is the most important time to be focusing on her goals and not waiting until next year.

A couple of weeks later we were debriefing and having a great conversation about one of my favorite laws, the law of process!! Leadership definitely develops daily and not in a day! I had the group to do a 48 hour litmus test and look at how they spent 2 days of their week to determine what were their priorities and focus.

One of my favorite passages from the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is, “What can you see when you look at a person’s daily agenda? Priorities, passion, abilities, relationships, attitude, personal disciplines, vision, and influence. See what a person is doing every day, day after day, and you’ll know who that person is or what he or she is becoming.” Again, during our debrief, another participant shared how after looking at 48 hours of her life, things just seemed “backwards” and that she couldn’t look ahead at the future until she straightened some things out personally.

Again, I was struck by the comment but this time had a personal revelation not only for the group but for myself as well.

The future is now! Our present and our future are not mutually exclusive. The Law of Process teaches us that what we do DAILY determines where we will be in our future! What we do today and for the next 30, 60, and 90 days will be the determining factor of what type of year we will have in 2014. Our future goals are not for some appointed time, far-off in the distant future, that just HAPPEN! The small daily acts of discipline, steps, decisions, risks, and planning we do are our future and the catalyst to the lives we desire.

You may be like the participants in my masterminds, overwhelmed by what’s currently happening in your life, career, or business. Don’t allow that to prolong the goals and dreams you have for yourself. Take the 48 hour litmus test and see what your daily agenda says about your priorities, passions, and focus. Then ask yourself, what can I do differently today?

About the Author

Melissa Nixon is a Featured writer with the John Maxwell team Blog.

She has over 15+ years as an HR and Organizational Development leader.

She is the founder of RedRoxx, LLC, a leadership and personal development company that teaches leaders how to maximize their individual, team, and business performance.

As a certified John Maxwell leadership coach, speaker, and trainer, she also coaches and trains women leaders and entrepreneurs who aspire to grow and achieve more harmony between their professional and personal lives.

Contact Melissa at www.johnmaxwellgroup.com/melissanixon