Issue # 45

To Your Success

January 2008 

Our Mission:
To help people live happy, successful lives; to harness their natural power and live to their full potential.

"The minute a man ceases to grow, no matter what his years, that minute he begins to be old." ----- William James

A WORK IN PROGRESS

Well here we are again at the beginning of another year. This is when we typically pause for a while (usually a very short while) and consider how our lives are going, and maybe even resolve to make some changes.

While we're on the subject of change let me share with you a short story that will lead to the point of today's message.

About thirty one years ago my wife Kisch and I, along with our young son Chris, packed up our belongings and moved from Vancouver BC to Chilliwack, a small, agricultural city just over an hour's drive to the east in the scenic Fraser Valley.

There was certainly some culture shock initially, moving from an urban lifestyle to a more rural one, but we soon adjusted and built a very nice life. We made many friends, enjoyed and appreciated successful careers and businesses, and became firmly imbedded in the community, a wonderful community I might add.

A dozen or so years later our son Chris graduated from high school and headed off to Vancouver to complete his university education. Of course we thought he'd come home for summer breaks, but it wasn't to be. Instead he found a part time job in the city that not only fit his school schedule but also morphed into full time summer employment.

Snap! Just like that Kisch and I were officially empty nesters. Very YOUNG empty nesters I might add, as that was about 18 or 19 years ago now and we're still kids even today.

But back to Chris … while in university he met and eventually married a very special young lady named Adina and a few years later (certainly not quite as quickly as Kisch would have preferred) they started a family of their own. Needless to say Kisch and I have made more than a few trips back and forth between Chilliwack and Vancouver since then, during which time we have observed incredible changes in both cities.

About a month ago, shortly before Christmas, Kisch and I created some change of our own by moving back to Vancouver. Yes we did … right into the heart of it, in the downtown West End close to English Bay, Stanley Park, the seawall, and a myriad of shops and cafés. Oh I know, some people think we're crazy, but it's a move that has been part of our life plan for quite some time, for reasons that involve business, lifestyle, and children (read grandkids).

(Note: For those of you in the Valley you can still expect to see me around however, as I will continue to attend Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce functions, visit friends and business associates, work with local clients, and present occasional open to the public workshops. I definitely intend to stay connected and involved.)

So here I sit at my desk in our new city apartment home writing my first newsletter of 2008 and reflecting on the past year. Actually it's more than just 'reflecting', as I am now fully into my annual tradition … and THAT is what inspired today's topic, a topic that deals with how people like you and I develop in a way that is very similar to the development of cities like Chilliwack and Vancouver.

I'm going to explain all that in a few seconds but first I'll briefly share with you just a little about my annual tradition.

At the end of each year I make an important investment, an investment in me; only the currency isn't money, it's time. And it's not just any kind of time; it's very personal and private time, about 8 - 12 hours worth when I can be completely alone with my questions and thoughts, with no distractions. Typically I do this in segments of two or three hours spread over several days.

This tradition (I call it 'Getting it Right' and it's included in my ThoughtShop programs) is actually a 'process' or series of exercises. Now, normally I would have already completed this process before the end of December but because of our move and other things I am only now getting into it.

As part of this practice I ask myself a series of questions; questions that guide me to reflect on the past year, evaluate my actions and outcomes, and review my accomplishments as well as setbacks. They also cause me to give serious thought to my values, who I am as a person, and who I aspire to be.

By working through this exercise I am able to identify my current challenges, come up with potential solutions and available resources, and then set my intentions and objectives for the coming year. I apply this process to my professional life, personal life, and each of my important relationships.

In effect this procedure allows me to learn from the past, bring the lessons forward, and leave the baggage behind. It is always done with the intention of making me a better, more effective person in each area of my life, more of who I ultimately aspire to be. Goodness knows it's a work in progress.

And that leads us to today's topic that deals with the similarities in the way that individuals and cities develop … so let's look at how this annual tradition of mine ties in with that.

To begin with, cities are in a continuous state of change, ever evolving. In some cases, especially with cities that are in their earlier stages of development, this change is dramatic and obvious. Chilliwack is one of these.

In Chilliwack, houses, shopping centers and light industrial buildings are popping up everywhere. Although there has certainly been a reasonable amount of infilling and redevelopment of older areas, it is also true that many, many acres of bare land have become subdivisions and industrial parks, and miles and miles of new roadways have been added along with new interchanges and countless traffic lights. During these past thirty years the size of the city's population and physical footprint have increased dramatically. The growth and changes are obvious for all to see.

With cities in more mature stages of development however the changes are less noticeable, yet still apparent over time. Vancouver is such a city.

Although Vancouver's population has also increased over these last thirty years it is by a much smaller percentage (about 50 % growth compared to almost 250% for Chilliwack).

Certainly there has been some infilling of empty lots but for the most part the new residential and commercial buildings have replaced something that was already there. Industrial areas became condo developments and office towers. Clusters of old houses and commercial buildings became towering high rises consisting of commercial space on the ground level and many stories of residential units above.

The result is that Vancouver's skyline today is a far cry from what it was thirty years ago, but because its land area was already almost fully developed at that time the footprint remains the same.

In the case of Chilliwack, a great deal of its growth has been due to expansion outward. With Vancouver however, its growth has come through renewal of previously developed land and the expansion has been upward, resulting in more value and practical use from the same piece of property. What is consistent with both however is that they are evolving; each is a work in progress.

You and I are the same, and the stage of our development is dependent upon a combination of the amount of knowledge we have acquired, our life experiences, and how much or little we have actually learned from it all. Certainly age alone does not determine this, as is apparent in the old adage, "There is quite a difference between having 20 years of experience, and having one year of experience just repeated 20 times."

Much like cities, as we move through the various stages of our development the changes may become less obvious, although certainly no less significant. If we are young and irresponsible for example and suddenly learn to accept personal responsibility for our actions and outcomes, to those around us our growth and expansion are obvious.

If we are older and more mature however and finally replace the need to be right with respect and understanding for others, that is also growth and expansion, although it may fall more under the category of renewal and so be less obvious to the casual observer. Both expansion and renewal are signs of growth.

Interestingly, in life everything is either in a state of growth or of decline, and cities are examples of that as well.

Really good cities, like highly respected organizations, businesses, and people, don't just happen, and they certainly don't happen by accident. They typically become this because they have taken time to establish their values, create a vision for their future, put in place a practical plan, and take action as needed. And behind the scenes they constantly question and evaluate, identify challenges and find solutions, tweak and adjust. They are ever evolving works in progress.

On numerous driving vacations around North America Kisch and I have observed an interesting phenomena, and that is that for whatever reasons some cities at some point stopped growing and became stagnant. Not only was there no expansion, there was also no renewal and limited upkeep. As a result, existing buildings and neighborhoods have fallen into various states of disrepair and population levels have declined.

What's interesting to me is that although these cities are going in a very different direction than Chilliwack or Vancouver, they are also 'works in progress'.

Again, you and I are no different. If we stop growing and allow ourselves to stagnate, the next step will be decay. Life is full of choices and I choose not to allow that to happen, which is why I have my tradition … a tradition that hopefully will keep me in a constant state of growth and renewal.

We are each a work in progress. The only question is, are we growing with deliberate intent into who and what we aspire to be, or evolving through neglect into someone far beneath our potential? Fortunately the choice is ours.

Wishing you a healthy, happy and prosperous 2008,
Reg Neufeld

"Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely." ----- Karen Kaiser Clark

ARE YOU INTENDING TO CREATE POSITIVE CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE THIS YEAR? If you are serious about this then give yourself the tools you need by participating in The ThoughtShop (more information). Several requests have been made to offer this workshop again in the Fraser Valley so as soon as we have enough participants to make a class I'll be happy to set a time and place.

This course will be held over a period of 3 weeks, one full day per week. Cost is $499 per person or $799 per couple. If you have interest please contact me.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE FOR YOUR E-ZINE OR WEBSITE? You can as long as you include the following complete statement:

Reg Neufeld, founder of Growing Into Success Training, is a teacher of life success and achievement principles using practical, step-by-step processes that can help you get from where you are to where you want to be. If you're ready to take control and begin living a truly happy and successful life, get your FREE success tips now at www.growingintosuccess.com