“What Got You Here Won’t Get You There!”

I walked by a book at Barnes & Noble one time and the above sentence was the title of the book. I didn’t read the book because I thought that the title gave me all the info I needed. Needless to say, the saying has stuck with me since that day. I remember it often as I try to pursue new opportunities and growth. Now, I want to pass it on to you and to tell you the same thing… So allow me to tell you what the boom at Barnes & Noble told me (I’ll even use fancy font!)

What does this mean for you?

Obviously, if you have made it this far, you’re awesome. You got hired. Got trained. Showed out and got promoted or are being prepared to be promoted.

Hell yeah. My hat is off to you.

BUT what got you here, won’t get you there. What got you to this point won’t get you to the next rung of the ladder without more hard work, improvement, self-development work, etc.

And so with that, I want to challenge you.

Here are my challenges for you:

1) Pursue MORE education than what we’ve taught you here. Start to educate yourself. Build the skillsets you currently have and add to your toolbox by learning about skills and areas you’re weak in. Example: Leadership, management, sales, communications, conflict resolution, business organization, marketing, relationships, read stories of other awesome people, etc.

2) Work on YOU. You may already do this or you may not. Either are fine. Whether you do or don’t work on yourself, do more or start all together. Start working out. Read books that teach you something. Get a hobby. Meditate. Find and start to see a counselor. Get into yoga.

3) Be diligent about your time. Plan out your week and your days. Prioritize what’s important and balance that with what is urgent. If you’re always doing what’s urgent you’ll never have time for what is important. So be diligent with your time. Use the tools and trainings you have learned here.

From This Point Forward:

There are only two options for you and what happens…

1) You created it

2) You allowed it

This mindset is Value 5. It is Extreme Ownership. Whatever happens from here, for the good or the bad, it’s your fault. You allowed it or you created it. This is the way.

Corey’s Reading List

I highly suggest reading books. If you don’t like reading, get an Audible account and listen to books. You can grow if you don’t educate yourself. The problem with this strategy is it is going to take a LONG time. And the path of growth without guidance is a painful one (ask me how I know).

OR, you can take the smart path. The path of education. This path, while still filled with trials and tribulations is much easier on you and those under your leadership.

Think about it like this: An author spends a large portion of their life learning a subject. Years and years of working through stuff and learning something and then they put it in a book. You can get that book and take what has taken them decades and thousands of hours to learns and have it in 8 hours? In what world is that not worth it. Take a Jocko book for example. He spent years and years leading one of America’s TOP fighting forces. He then distilled all that information into a book to teach you about leadership in easy to follow language and instruction. You can get 20+ years of his wisdom in 8 hours and for less than $20.

I suggest you read/listen to books on various skill sets to learn and grow over time. If you do, you’ll lead better and probably move up the ladder here quicker. If you do that, you’ll grow your responsibility, your impact, your legacy and your income.

Reading and learning pays dividends. Not just for the people under your care bit for you and your pocketbook too.

Preface To My List: There are many, many great books out there. There are more than I could list here. I’ve read a lot of books on various topics. Here are the books I suggest for various categories. If you read an excellent book not on the list, let me know. I’ll check it out and add it to the list if I think it’ll make a good edition.

Note: Wonder Dog will pay half for any book you buy that teaches you something, is based around self-improvement, etc. Just send us the receipt and claim half of the price on your payroll.

Last Note: The stuff you learn in your studies isn’t just for you. It’s for the people in the organization as well. If you learn something good and worth sharing, share it. If it’s worth being in a Cert, let’s put it in a Cert. The more we add to our trainings, the stronger our teams will be and the better we will all become.

Leadership:

1) Extreme Ownership