Are you a personal development junkie like me? Then I want to share with you one of the books that have completely changed my life, the way I think, and the way I do everything in my life and business. Today I’m sharing with you my most honest review of John Maxwell’s book, The 15 invaluable laws of growth.
I must admit that I didn’t really know who this man was until I picked up this book. I saw someone I follow on Instagram talk about the book and say that it had completely changed her life. The title intrigued me and being the book worm that I am, I immediately added it to my list. Once I managed to buy it and I started reading it, a whole new world was opened to me.
I’ve become very passionate about personal development in recent years, but the truth is that I wasn’t always like that. In fact, I used to think that all the talks about personal growth and development were just a lot of fluff, and some of them definitely are, but that happens in every area. However, once I started to really get into it and understand how essential it is to work on ourselves before we work on anything else, my life completely changed.
I followed quite a few people over the years that are in this niche, and I definitely like a few of them, but I was quite impressed when I picked up The 15 invaluable laws of growth. I think that is because I then found out from reading the book that John Maxwell is also a believer, and that definitely added some bonus points for me.
But let’s talk a little bit more about him before I go into the book review.
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Who is John C. Maxwell?
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John C. Maxwell is an author, motivational speaker, educator, and pastor. He has written multiple best-selling books and is the founder of several organizations including The John Maxwell Company and The John Maxwell Team.
He started off in a small town in the US, but as I read from his book and from a little research I did, he always had big dreams and always wanted to make an impact in the world.
In his book, he shares how he started his journey in the personal growth field, he recalls the first investment he ever made and how his life completely changed from there.
As I said before, I had no idea who he was (maybe I’m late to the party but hey), but I was quite impressed when I was reading his book, to find out that he was a Christian and we shared the same beliefs. I think that’s quite an important thing for me and I was quite glad that I could relate to some of the things he shared.
What are John Maxwell’s 15 laws of growth?
When I picked up this book, I wasn’t too sure what to expect. I kind of knew that he was going to cover the topic of personal growth in some shape or form, but as I said before, I read many books that had a lot of fluff in them, so I guess I was just hoping this one wasn’t going to be one of them.
Here is a little summary of The 15 invaluable laws of growth: in this book, John Maxwell shares 15 laws (I also like to call them pillars), that are essential for anyone that wants to reach their full potential, develop personally and professionally, and make an impact in this world. Although he doesn’t focus a lot on that in this particular book, he also does share some elements that are very important for leaders – or aspiring leaders. Whether you are an entrepreneur, you want to become a leader in your industry, or you just want to develop as a person and achieve your dreams whilst also improving the relationship with yourself and others, I think this is a great book.
Here is a list of John Maxwell’s 15 laws of growth:
- The law of intentionality. Basically, if you want to see growth, it’s essential that you make an actual effort and become intentional with it, as you can’t expect growth to happen and you do nothing about it
2. The law of awareness. This is the step where you spend some time learning more about yourself, what you love, what you want to do with your life, and you really give it some thought.
3. The law of the mirror. In this step, you focus on yourself and your self-esteem, and I love the practical tips that he shared in this chapter to help you boost your self-confidence
4. The law of reflection. This is where you will learn that pausing to reflect and meditate is essential for true growth and success
5. The law of consistency. If you know anything about me, you will probably guess that this is my favorite law. Maxwell talks about being disciplined and consistent and shares some practical tips on how to improve at this.
6. The law of environment. In this chapter, he puts a lot of focus on the environment that you are in and the people that surround you, and how this determines your growth.
7. The law of design. Okay, this is probably another favorite chapter of mine as it’s all about planning and strategizing. He shares practical tips and insights to create a strategy and systems for your life, in order to grow well.
8. The law of pain. This chapter is all about understanding how you deal with pain and negative situations and learning to use even these circumstances as opportunities for growth.
9. The law of the ladder. In this chapter, Maxwell focuses on working on our character and doing the “inside work” to truly see results in what we do and make a genuine and lasting impact on other people’s lives.
10. The law of the rubber band. This is where you will learn that stretching yourself is essential for your growth and that you should always be in a state of stretching, where you never “settle” in a certain place but continue to keep the tension between where you are and where you want to be.
11. The law of trade-offs. This chapter is about understanding and accepting that making sacrifices is important for our growth, and decide what we are willing to trade-off to get us to our next position.
12. The law of curiosity. This is where John Maxwell encourages us to always remain curious in life, never stop learning, and never stop asking why.
13. The law of modeling. This law is about finding a mentor that you can follow and take an example from, in order to reach your next level of growth.
14. The law of expansion. In this chapter, you will learn to continue expanding yourself, never stop learning, and never limit your potential and what you can achieve.
15. The law of contribution. In this last chapter, John Maxwell shares the importance of using your growth not only for your progress and success but also to make a contribution in the world and give back to others.
What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned from John Maxwell?
I genuinely loved reading this book. I kept underlining everything and sharing pictures of what I was reading on my Instagram account because it was just so incredibly good! If I had to share the biggest lesson I’ve learned from this book is that you should never stop learning and growing. Throughout the book, John Maxwell kept saying that he will always consider himself a student until the day he dies. And that is an amazing way to put it and exactly what we should all be striving for. The moment you think you’ve “made it” is when you start setting yourself up for failure. Instead, having a student mentality, for life, is what will truly make a difference for you in this journey.
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Conclusion on The 15 invaluable laws of growth
I really hope you found this review helpful, whether it was your first time hearing about this book, or you had been contemplating it for a while and just wanted to have some more information about it. If you choose to buy John Maxwell’s book, let me know what you think of it, but I’m sure you won’t regret it!
