The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth – Book Review

Leadership – a main tenant for 2024 here at The Wealthy Ironworker.  In addition to exploring leadership, various traits, and how they are applied in the skilled trades (primarily, anyway), I also have a goal of increasing the number of book reviews we do here.

Enter The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth by John C. Maxwell.

While perhaps THE most well-known individual when leadership is discussed in the public forum, it’s his down-to-earth writing style and delivery method I find intriguing. He doesn’t reside in academia, and his message, while often delivered to high powerful executives, is just as easily understood by those in the field. That’s a skill most do not possess.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at this book.

Personal Growth

Turn on the power of personal growth

For what it’s worth, I believe many people, after compulsory education (K – 12), stop really growing. There are numerous reasons for this; environment, upbringing, values, occupations, geographical area, excess entertainment, etc., but the main one I’m convinced of is the learning environment itself. That is to say, our modern public education system is severely flawed; rather than focusing on personal and home environments, encouraging people to embrace learning, and – I believe this is a big one – encouraging personal growth (in many ways), we do the opposite. We slow down the pace of education and progress, effectively dumbing things down – ever heard of “No Child Left Behind?” Yeah, that was just the start.

It doesn’t stop there, though. Despite horrible public education policies like the aforementioned, we learn that home environments, their approach to education (or lack thereof), and even culture have FAR more effects on children. What happens next is you have mandatory subjects taught, standards of excellence testing, extreme grading curves, and accommodations for nearly everything – not to mention all of the social disputes being taught in mass.

The misguided idea is that we are somehow helping those less fortunate; the exact opposite is taking place, though. We stifle the best and brightest at the altar of “fairness,” somehow convincing people that this is helpful.

The result?

The love of learning dies a 1,000 deaths. Millions reside here, sadly.

And when you do not love to learn, you stop trying to. You aren’t focused on growth, and any real growth you experience it’s either slow and painful, or it’s incomplete. In other words, you have to – you guessed it – be intentional about it.

And that’s where this book sells itself.

The third in the Law series, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, has a familiar and down-to-earth style that addresses specific principles for personal growth along with examples – both good and bad. For what it’s worth, I firmly believe that EVERYONE should be intentional about their personal life – and that includes growth.

So, what does that look like?

I mean, it’s one thing to say/write it; it’s another to understand it – much less actually put it into practice.

This is where things get – ahem – personal. Yeah, you read that right. What your personal growth plan looks like is different from mine, and there is nothing wrong with that.

The Laws

The law – something firmer than a principle or proverb

For this section, I’m going to discuss the actual laws in the book, give you my favorite lines from each (A LOT harder than I thought it’d be – there is loads of good stuff in there), and discuss things some.

 

Introduction

A short intro to the book and content, I want to highlight the following from it:

“The specifics of growth change from person to person, but the principles are the same for every person.” – Page xiv

That’s absolutely true.

 

Chapter 1: The Law of Intentionality

 

Do you know your purpose – and are you pursuing it with intentionality?

I was pleasantly surprised when reading this book to discover this law. The reason? When I wrote The 4 Indispensible Qualities of a Leader, the first Quality was “The Art of Intentionality.” What’s more – and I’ve written this elsewhere, too, but I wrote it BEFORE I came across this.

Seeing someone as popular as John Maxwell agree with me – or maybe I should write that I agree with him – is a nice feather in my cap. I’ll take it.

In any case, this chapter should be pretty straightforward, really; you need to be intentional about personal growth, and if you are not, then you are going to get mixed results from the remaining laws. This was a great chapter, and, as a result, I had a difficult time finding just one idea to share. I eventually settled on:

“It occurred to me that if you focus on goals, you may hit goals – but that doesn’t guarantee growth. If you focus on growth, you will grow and always hit goals.” – Page 2

***This one resonates with me; I have been saying for a while now that just because you become a better tradesman doesn’t guarantee you’ll be a better man. However, if you become a better man, you will become a better tradesman. The same applies to you ladies, too.***

 

Chapter 2: The Law of Awareness

Are you aware of your limitations, your growth, your needs, and purpose?

Do you know who you are? Your capacity, capabilities, and limitations?

Welcome to chapter 2 of this book. Simply put, if you lack awareness, how can you expect to grow? If you do not know what your limitations are, where and what your strengths are, then no matter how intentional you believe yourself to be, you cannot grow to your fullest potential.

Alas, another great chapter with multiple areas I could have chosen from. Here’s what I appreciated the most:

“Poet and critic Samuel Johnson observed, ‘Almost every man wastes part of his life in attempts to display qualities which he does not possess.'” – Page 24

“The people who get ahead in the world are the ones who look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, they make them.” – Page 26

 

Chapter 3: The Law of the Mirror

What do you see when you look in the mirror? Value? or do you struggle to like what you see?

In a nutshell, this chapter details why you need to see value in yourself. After all, if you do not see value, why would you take the time to actually grow? Seems like a fairly obvious question, to me.

However, numerous people struggle with self-esteem and comparing themselves to others – and this has become worse with social media. People only see what others post; we forget those are only the highlights. Their day-to-day life is likely just like ours.

“Comparing yourself to others is really just a needless distraction. The only one you should compare yourself to it you. Your mission is to become better today than you were yesterday.” – Page 42

Theodore Roosevelt is credited with saying, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” To right he was.

 

Chapter 4: The Law of Reflection

So few of us stop and just think about things. The power of reflection should not be dismissed

Far too many of us want to travel 1,000 miles an hour, not taking the time to reflect – on what we have learned, what we have missed, or even where we can course correct. When we take a step back, focus, and reflect, we increase our opportunities to learn – and subsequently, grow.

I wish numerous others understood this, too; it’s a good start wanting to grow – but it’s not enough; you need to reflect on what you believe you’ve learned to make the most impact.

“I have yet to meet a person who doesn’t benefit from pausing and reflecting. In fact, stopping to reflect is one of the most valuable activities people can do to grow. It has much greater value to them than even motivation or encouragement.” – Page 54

“A minute of thought is worth more than an hour of talk.” – Page 56

 

Chapter 5: The Law of Consistency

Discipline: Stick to the grind – whatever it happens to be. DON’T QUIT

This chapter is all about discipline. It’s a strange thing; discipline is what people really need, and yet, motivation is what’s talked about the most.

When was the last time you heard of a discipline speaker? Yeah, I didn’t think so. A lot of effort is placed into talking about motivation, while discipline is underappreciated.

I intuitively understand this as well; I have a post in the works that is part of the Vs series: Motivation Vs Discipline. If I remember, I’ll come back here and link it to this article.

“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. That means developing great habits. Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments, and that bridge must be crossed every day. Over time that daily crossing becomes a habit. And ultimately, people do not decide their future; they decide their habits and their habits decide their future.” – Page 78,79

 

Chapter 6: The Law of Environment

Is your environment calm or chaotic?

Ever tried to grow something in the garden during winter? Read a book in the noisiest place possible, full of distractions?

This chapter is all about environment – well, actually, the right kind of environment, to be precise. You see, you can try all you want, but if you are in the wrong environment, you’re growth will be anemic at best. Think about it for a second: if you take the time to be intentional and actually grow, why hold yourself back due to your environment?

Oh, and as this chapter continues on, we should clarify that this also applies to others around you as well as your physical/mental space. It’s been said you are the sum total of the 5 or 6 people you spend the most time with. Accepting this as true, it’s clear we need to be intentional about who we associate with.

“If you know you need to make a major change to your environment, then there’s something you must keep in mind: You must also determine to change yourself at the same time. Here’s why: If you try to…

Change yourself but not your environment – growth will be slow and difficult;

Change your environment but not yourself – growth will be slow and less difficult;

Change your environment and yourself – growth will be faster and more successful.” – Page 89

 

Chapter 7: The Law of Design

Your most precious resource is time; how diligent are you with it?

This is another stellar chapter, dealing with the need to develop strategies. In other words, taking the time to establish goals, resisting them, and changing them if – and when – necessary. Otherwise, you are merely existing, and this is something I’ve said for years now. Indeed, it is the reason I’ve been posting goals at the start of the past few years, and following up with them at the end of each month. You can check 2022 here and 2023 here.

“Most people allow their lives to simply happen to them. They float along. They wait. They react. And by the time a large portion of their life is behind them, they realize, they should have been more proactive and strategic.” – Page 103

“Time has a way of getting away from most people, yet time is what life is made of. Everything we do requires time, yet many people take it for granted. How you spend your time is more important than how you spend your money. Money mistakes can be corrected. But once time has passed, it’s gone forever.” – Page 115

 

Chapter 8: The Law of Pain

No one is immune to pain; it’s all in how you handle it

We have an unhealthy, unnatural, and seismic fear of failure today. Far too many people will play it safe, attempting not to engage with even the possibility of failure. But here’s the rub: You can learn the most from failure. It’s true. More people would know this if they didn’t have that fear. What’s more, it’s also why some ask, “What would you attempt if you knew you couldn’t fail?”

To that end, I want to tell everyone reading that you shouldn’t fear failure; instead, acknowledge it, and do your absolute best to learn from it. Take accountability for your actions – shortcomings, too – and use that pain to propel you to new heights.

The difficulty I had with this chapter is there are several great quotes – and I simply couldn’t narrow it down to just one for this review.

“What separates people who thrive from those who merely survive? I believe it’s how they face their problems.” – Page 124

“We need to train ourselves to fight for positive changes. How do we do that? By remembering that our choices will lead to either the pain of self-discipline or the pain of regret.” – Page 133

“Earlier I said that you need to recognize that your circumstances don’t define you. They are outside of you and need not negatively impact your values and standards. At the same time, you must take responsibility for your life and the choices you make.” – Page 133

“It is nearly impossible to grow in any significant way when you don’t take responsibility for yourself and your life.” – Page 134

 

Chapter 9: The Law of the Ladder

The sky is the limit – but as you grow, be sure it isn’t one dimensional

The subtitle for the chapter says, “Character growth determines the height of your personal growth.”

In other words, if you are genuine about wanting to grow – in your personal life, business life, spiritual life, or any other area of your life, you MUST place emphasis on growing your character. All you need to do is a quick Google search to discover a long list of prominent business leaders who’ve succeeded in business but failed in character. It took them down – and many others with them.

You see, people often overemphasize professional growth at the expense of undervaluing character growth.

I have an idea for another article I’ll be writing in the near future, detailing professional and personal growth today. In the meantime, let’s look at this:

“Bill Thrall asserts that people often focus on their professional capacity without developing character, and it almost always costs them in the end. It costs them their personal relationships and often their career.” – Page 144

“We do not stay grateful because that makes us indebted, and we don’t want to be indebted.” – Page 151

 

Chapter 10: The Law of the Rubber Band

Rubber bands stretch – and so should you in tension and the pursuit of growing

To put it succinctly, this chapter details the tension – the tug of war, if you will – that is natural between where you are in the here and now, and where you could be.

Many people experience this phenomenon and don’t connect the dots. They don’t appreciate the tension, nor are they fully embracing it for fear of change and uncomfortability. That’s unfortunate, especially since, behind fear, the unknown often gives us the most to learn.

What’s more, this was another chapter with abundant words of wisdom. I’m an underliner, it’s what I do. Let’s review a few:

“God’s gift to us: potential. Our gift to God: developing it.” – Page 157

“Most people use only a fraction of their ability and rarely strive to reach their full potential. There is no tension to grow in their lives, little desire to stretch. Sadly, a third of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives, and 42 percent of college graduates similarly never read a book after college.” – Page 161

“Jim Rohn observed, ‘Every life form seems to strive to its maximum except human beings. How tall will a tree grow? As tall as it possibly can. Human beings, on the other hand, have been given the dignity of choice. YOu can choose to be all or you can choose to be less. Why not stretch up to the full measure of the challenge and see what all you can do?'” – Page 164, 165

“A.G. Buckham, who pioneered aviation photography in the early days of flight, observed, ‘Monotony is the awful reward of the careful.’ If you want to grow and change, you must take risks.” – Page 165

 

Chapter 11: The Law of the Trade-Offs

The most known trade-off is time for money, but there are others to consider, as well

This is a really tough chapter for some – and, if we are honest, some often includes you and me. The idea that I may have to give up something for something else isn’t new or even radical, but giving up something I love is. Ouch. It’s no wonder so many never adopt a mindset that allows them to challenge this.

The idea, then, illustrates not just trading some things but trading loved things – and that really stings. BUT, it’s precisely those things that often end up holding us back, whether from being too attached, becoming a crutch, or even a stumbling block.

And, another chapter, another struggle to keep words down from it.

“Everyone makes trades throughout life, whether they know it or not. The question is whether you are going to make good ones or bad ones. – Page 177

 

Chapter 12: The Law of Curiosity

Curiosity – one of the most underrated traits you can possess

This chapter resonates with me on a very deep level. When you are a naturally curious person, you always want to know why: why things work the way they do, why things have to be done this way, is it possible to do things any differently; there are so many questions we could begin to ask ourselves about almost anything.

Except most don’t ask. Most people don’t even consider the possibility, much less ask any curious questions. Again, I think a large part of this stems back to the death of the love of learning, but, from what I can observe, I also think part of the issue stems from just basic human nature.

The Roman satirist Juvenile is credited with saying, “Give them bread and circuses, and they will never revolt.” In other words, give people food and entertainment, and you can rule them without issue.

People love to be entertained – and, if we’re honest, we prefer it over stretching our horizons through curiosity. This chapter is FULL of good advice. Taking that at face value, let’s review a few I found notable:

“The way you approach life and learning has nothing to do with your age. It has everything to do with your attitude. Having a beginner’s mind-set means wondering why and asking a lot of questions until you get answers. It also means being open and vulnerable.” – Page 195

“When you think of curiosity, growth, and learning, do you think of formal education? I think in the early grades curiosity is encouraged, but after that, it’s not. Most formal education steers people toward answers rather than questions.” – Page 197

👆From what I have observed, that is SPOT ON.👆

“Roger von Oech, author of A Whack on the Side of the Head, says, ‘Almost every advance in art, cooking, medicine, agriculture, engineering, marketing, politics, education, and design has occurred when someone challenged the rules and tried another approach.'” – Page 201

“Richard Thalheimer, founder of Sharper Image, says, ‘It’s better to look uninformed than to be uninformed. Curb your ego and keep asking questions.’ That’s great advice.” – Page 202

Curiosity is a rare trait; do what you can to develop it in abundant quantities.

 

Chapter 13: The Law of Modeling

Do you have a mentor to encourage, challenge, reassure, and course-correct you along the way?

Ah, the concept of having someone to admire, look up to, ask questions, and learn from them in general. While it’s true you can learn more today online than in years past, it’s always preferable to have others teach you. If you’re serious about learning, you need to be self-driven; otherwise, you will never reach your potential. With someone to consult with, however, you’ll get there faster.

I can speak from experience, here. The latter half of 2023 saw me doing a lot – and at times, it felt like drinking from a firehose. Between switching website hosts, researching podcasting equipment and hosting, recording and editing software, setting up a store – it’s been one huge learning curve. I wish I had someone who has done it all before to ask questions, but, at least I had the internet. I watched YouTube videos frequently when I hit stumbling blocks. In the end, if I had someone tangible to speak with, the timeframe could have been shortened.

The same rings true for anything worth doing. Look for others who are doing what you want, ask questions, and glean from them as much as you can.

“As you look for role models and mentors, scrutinize their personal lives as carefully as their public performance. Your values will be influenced by theirs, so you shouldn’t be too casual who you choose to follow.” – Page 213

“The people you follow, the models you emulate, the mentors you take advice from help to shape you. If you spend your time with people who subtract from you, who belittle you or undervalue you, then every step forward you attempt to take will be difficult. But if you find wise leaders, good role models, and positive friends, you will find that they speed you on your journey.” – Page 222

In short, find and choose your mentors wisely.

 

Chapter 14: The Law of Expansion

Are you reaching your limits? Are you pushing beyond them?

You never reach your full potential; if you follow the path toward growth, it will be lifelong. Realizing this earlier on is important so you can overcome the things that’ll seek to hold you back – including your own artificial ceiling.

You see, most people never seek to grow. If you do, most never achieve their limits. And if you are one of the few who reaches their limits? Even fewer push past them.

Taking this at face value, we’d be wise to orchestrate our lives in such a way that we smash through our limits, what and wherever they’re at.

“The most common reason people don’t overcome the odds is that they don’t challenge them enough. They don’t test their limits. They don’t push their capacity. How can I? assumes there is a way. You just need to find it.” – Page 229

“The first step toward success is becoming good at what you know how to do. But the more you do what you know, the more you discover additionally worthy things you could do. When this occurs, you have a decision to make. Will you continue doing what you have always done, or will you make the leap and try new things?” – Page 232, 233.

For most of us, if we even get good at what we do, we stop there, fearing the unfamiliar, and becoming complacent. The question, then becomes, “Are you up for an adventure?”

 

Chapter 15: The Law of Contribution

Mentoring – after all you’ve learned – are you doing it?

Rounding out the book is much like rounding out the person: I’ve learned so much – I need to teach others. I believe the reason this chapter is last is simple: many do not make it this far, and if you do, it is the perfect culmination of your journey. Taking the knowledge and wisdom you’ve accumulated from life experiences, others, and coupled with circumstances and situations outside your control, you finally reach the pinnacle – passing it on.

We finish this chapter with something Maxwell’s mentor said to him:

“Self-fulfillment thinks of how something serves me.

Self-development thinks of how something helps me to serve others.

With self-fulfillment, feeling good is the product.

With self-development, feeling good is the byproduct.

What’s the main difference? The motive. Self-fulfillment means doing what I enjoy most and will receive the most strokes for doing, while self-development means doing what I am talented and uniquely fit to do, and that becomes my responsibility.” – Page 255

Conclusion

In the end, the path toward greater growth starts with an intentional choice, and along the way, includes all of the tenants listed. This book – The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, is a great resource and deserves to be on your shelf.

Oh, and lest I forget to mention, don’t allow the idea that because you aren’t a leader, it isn’t for you. This book is for EVERYONE. And, if I’ve convinced you of that, you can get the book here.

So, I’ll conclude by asking: What’s stopping you from setting goals, determining that your personal growth is important, and moving forward to achieve them? Do you want to remain the same, meandering through life without purpose and intentionality, never really achieving all you can – or do you want to set lofty goals and inspire others – including those in your realm of influence?

No time like the present to get started. What are you waiting for?