This will be the final post in the series on growth and development.  We started with using doubt as a dowsing rod to show us where we need to go to grow.  Then, we talked about failure and lifting weights and how you can’t play it safe if you want to grow.  We touched on the fact that we aren’t butterflies safe in a cocoon in a the midst of a crazy world, and last week we talked about how you have to go through your own internal photosynthesis in order to develop.  We are going to end this series by moving from flowers to trees and the importance of reflecting on our progress.

California Redwood trees are known for their immense size and beauty.  Even though they are some of the largest trees in the world they all started as a small seed.  Slowly, that seed grew and sprouted into a young sapling.  The sapling then spent years going through photosynthesis, growing and developing, until it became the Redwood trees people plan trips to go see.

I sometimes wonder if a tree can feel itself growing.  At some kind of cellular level I wonder if the tree can sense where it is growing, that its limbs are getting longer, and that its roots are digging deeper into the ground.  It would be pretty cool if it could.

How does this connect with our work?  Much like the tree we have all grown a lot over the years.  Do you ever stop to reflect on how much and how you’ve grown?  Do you ever stop to celebrate how much you’ve changed?  Over the past few years I’ve picked up skills I didn’t have, sharpened strengths that already existed, and learned so much more about work and life.  At the same time as I’ve worked with people I’ve watched them grow too!  I’ve seen people begin to grow into the leaders they always thought they could be.  I’ve seen people take on new challenges and win.  I’ve watched people unleash the potential that’s been inside of them for years.

The challenge: Take a second to appreciate how far you’ve come.  Take a second to help someone else understand how much they’ve grown and how proud of them you are.  Before you do anything else today take a second and send someone a kind word telling them that you’ve noticed their growth.  It will make their week and yours too.  I’m serious.  Stop reading this email and send some kind words to somebody.  Tell them, “Hey, just want you to know that I appreciate you.  You used to be _______, but now you’re like ______.  I couldn’t be prouder of how far you’ve come.  Keep growing.”

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry