Kaizen is NOT a destination

January is long gone. 2013 is well underway, and I have yet to write my 1st blog post. Since it is still early in the year,  let's look at a topic that we all think about when a new year starts... change. OK - not just change: Improvement. That's right. We all seek to improve ourselves in some way around this time of the year. However, we often abandon in mid-transition. Sticking to the transition and incorporating it as routine is the trick. When it comes to "rubber meets the road" notice how it's easier to stick to things that are small? Who would think that the trick is exactly that - sticking to things that are small. 

Small changes. 

Repetitive. 

Consistent.
I recently finished "reading" another great audio-book: The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy. As many of you know, I have been reading all sorts of audio-books lately. Yes, even some HALO audio-books!

Mater Chief: The ultimate example of "improvement"

Although I always love to read and digest thought-provoking subject matter. The unfortunate side-effect is the resulting "belly ache" from trying to take it all in at once. The information is so rich, it is hard to integrate it into life right away - or - find immediate application to the everyday routine.
Just getting my head around the concepts takes (me) a little repetition. Listening/reading it a 2nd time helps a lot. No, I was never good at theory. However, I am great with hands-on. Just doing it. Action. The Compound Effect is perfect for understanding how to improve without getting a "belly ache". The concept is extremely straight-forward. A lot of it is based on what many of us already have a firm grasp of: Habits. Those things that we do continuously, everyday automatically without thought . I highly recommend it. I promise to do a complete blog-post on it later this year. What is great about the book, is that it helps you realize that practically everything in your life is a result of the compound effect - for good or ill. In some cases, we may be caught in a personal "Doom Loop" and not even know it.  Just like a snowball that keeps getting bigger & bigger, it has it's own momentum and is almost impossible to stop.

The best part is, you quickly learn that it is not about making those BIG changes. I've heard it before, but just didn't listen. It is the small, consistent changes that make the lasting improvements in your life. Where did I hear it before? You guessed it. Dr. Covey mentioned several times: "Kaizen", the Japanese philosophy of "continuous improvement".

I know it is difficult to view "success as a journey" and not a destination. Most of my life, I felt that one day I would be "successful" at something. Perhaps I was thinking of success as something I would achieve as a point in time - a place - or a thing - or that would produce tangibles like money and all the things I could buy with it. Not anymore. Think about it. If we succumb to doing what we do everyday - the exact same thing. Over and over. How can we ever get anywhere? (Hamster on a Wheel)

“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” 

–Jim Rohn

This continuous journey where we seek to improve ourselves,  is not just for our individual selves. We need to build ourselves to benefit of all of those around us. Long-term, our selflessness will invigorate and bring us life. Make us feel younger. Leave a legacy. The moment we give up on the concept, or feel that we need not to improve. The instance in which we believe we need not learn anymore - That is the moment we truly begin to grow old.

I plan to be a kid the rest of my life.