Growing Change

Inspiration and motivation are commodities not to be wasted. When the moment hits that we feel inspired, creative or motivated to accomplish something,  we need to strike while the iron is hot. If you're like me, those rare moments of mental clarity can be fleeting, and much to my dis-liking, all too rare. However, I have found a simple solution to quell my ululations. Education. Simple, unfiltered education, I’m talking about fertilizing the ground that springs life to creativity, innovation, and leads to unimagined personal growth. I do not mean paying the inflated price of formal higher education, but filling your mind with exactly what creates inspiration and motivation, thoughts.

Whether it’s reading daily blogs from Seth Godin, Jon Acuff, books from John Maxwell, John Miller, or listening to podcasts by Michael Hyatt, Dan Miller, Or Dave Ramsey, listening to other’s thoughts has a strange consequence, it creates thoughts! Innovative, inspirational, motivational thoughts. The kind of thoughts that spark incremental change, the kind of incremental change that leads to big change, the kind of big change that leads to life-changing revelations.

My point is, that a garden just doesn’t spring to life on its own. Do nothing to the land, nothing happens but weeds. If we prepare the soil, get the plants, put them in the ground, water, fertilizer, and combine that with mother nature, we can watch as our work grows, evolves, and bares fruit. All of that happens in small increments, with a little bit of work and preparation at every level. The same applies to us, put in nothing, get what you’ve always been getting. Loading up on reading, listening and information has the possibility to grow things you had no idea could. How does this play into personal finance, you ask. The more we read, educate and inform ourselves, the greater the opportunity to grow a lush, healthy garden of thoughts that inspires incremental change.

Incremental change  to view money differently, budget for next month, delay what we want now until we have the money later, start a business, enact change in your workplace or impact the world in another way. We cannot expect something to change when we continue to put in the same ideas. Instead, we should shift our focus to fertilizing the ground and growing something fresh, innovative and new. Incremental change starts this way.