Over years of giving job interviews, I've found that everybody claims, “I love to learn” and
“I really want to grow.” It's so easy to say those words. Besides, in wanting a job, who would ever claim that they don't want to learn or grow? Yet, truth be told, so very few seem ready and willing to pay the price for growth.

The Japanese have a word – kaizan – which means continuous, never-ending improvement. It's a wonderful philosophy that drives excellence for multinational companies like Toyota. And it can be part of your philosophy, if you so choose.

Growing is a life-long process. Each day we paint our life's canvas, and can gradually grow to become masterpieces. Yet, that's not going to happen if we keep doing the same old stuff as yesterday. Our habits become us. Bottom line: cultivate winning habits if you want winning results.

Growth is a hallmark of a leader. If nothing needs to change, you don't even need a leader - a manager will do. Any leader must first master and grow themselves before they can effectively help others. Personal growth always precedes organizational growth.

"Leadership is not magnetic personality—that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not "making friends and influencing people"—that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person's vision to higher sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations." -- Peter Drucker

So many things stand in the way of our own growth, most of which are self-imposed…

1. Human Nature. Without clarity of purpose, we're subject to path of least resistance and can gradually spiral down to apathetic inertia. People are attracted to fun, and don't always do what's good for them. Nowadays, there are plenty of distractions that can keep you off the path of growth.

People are driven by the Pain-Pleasure Principal. We all seek to avoid pain and seek pleasure. However, we tend to grow most through hardship – not through comfort and ease. It has been said that “the best steel is forged in the hottest fire.”

On the world stage, remarkable people have usually risen from great hardship. They've endured more and have become more. Most of us never grow to that extent, because we're never forced to.

Growth often takes some short-term pain. It requires discipline and willpower to subordinate our desire for instant gratification. It takes sacrificing today's fun for tomorrow's promise.Only then can we accomplish something worthwhile.

One way or another, people always pay a price. It's either today's burden or tomorrow's regret. Make sure you're willing to pay the price for your own growth.

2. Responsibility. Some people begin to resist self-growth. They see learning and growth as work, and work as something that demands compensation. They assume that it's management's responsibility to grow them, and they expect to be paid to grow, and paid even more when they've grown.

Some will even openly reject training or growth opportunities - no extra pay means no extra work. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot! Some people can gradually devolve into reluctant monkeys doing tricks for snacks Don't let that be you.

Ken Shelton, editor of Leadership Excellence, states “At every leadership conference I attend, I find some people depreciate the company investment by turning the learning and training into a paid mini-vacation with no intent of capturing and applying content, let alone improving their performance.”

What comes first, the pay raise or the better skills? It's a universal law - you must first deliver value before you earn a better reward. If you want to be more, do more, and earn more, then commit to personal and professional growth. Take responsibility for it. You will always win that way. After all, who wins most for your own growth?

3. Success. Good is the enemy of great. When we taste success the temptation is to celebrate far too long – to setup camp and stop climbing altogether. This is the difference between growth and success. Those seeking success focus on the rewards, while those seeking growth focus on the challenge itself.

People stick to what works for them, and the older we get, the more set in our ways we tend to become. In our youth, we're far more willing to experiment and accept temporary failure. We don't pretend to be experts. Those posturing as experts stop learning. They lose the quality of “a beginner's mindset” and the curiosity it entails.

4. Schooling. Traditional schooling encourages passive compliance. Sit still and let the teacher deliver today's lesson. In business, we want people to show up with hands, hearts and minds engaged – not as dependants in desperate need of more lessons.

People too easily assume the role of students, and their learning suffers for it. It's a passive, dependant posture – waiting to be hand-held and spoon-fed by someone else. It's a master-slave relationship based upon adult teachers authoritatively directing young students.

Even though we're all adults, some of us still fall into childhood patterns when it comes to learning. Wake up! We're not in grade 4 anymore, and we don't have to be stuck reliving that scenario.

5. Teachers. Everybody wants to be taught by a fabulous teacher. The truth is that weak students depend on strong teachers . When someone fails to learn, they're quick to point out the teacher's shortcomings. Our organization is no exception. People are waiting for that fabled trainer to appear that will show them the way. We're not, and never will be, a professional teaching organization.

Learners are those that make the transition from being a student to a learner. From someone who will learn only if they're taught, to someone who continues to learn and seeks “teachers” all around them. Accelerate your own learning by making the transition from student to learner.

Laws for a Lifetime of Growth: