Notes from October 17, 2023

Bill Goodwin, founder and CEO of Priority Living MN with Doug Anderson, has 30 years of experience training leaders through dynamic speaking and his Live to Lead opportunity, as well as helping build a community of value based leaders. A fellow Rotarian with our neighbors in Lakeville, Bill was inspired to join Rotary by his uncle Tom Powell since he was a boy growing up in Arizona. Using the backyard-tree analogy, Bill introduced the club to the five main principles of growth: have a defined GOAL, use the right TOOLS, take ACTION, stay FOCUSED, and be CONSISTENT.

 

The difference between a goal-oriented mindset and a growth oriented-mindset, explained Bill, is the end result of each. While setting goals leads us to focus on a destination and motivates us by asking ourselves how long something will take, a growth mindset truly changes us and focuses on our lifelong journeys, asking instead how far we can go. Bill introduced the leadership Law of Intentionality: Growth doesn’t just happen! You grow older naturally, but in order to improve it is essential to be intentional, because “leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less.”

 

Bill introduced the club to 8 traps that slow our personal growth, ranging from “It’s not the right time for me” to “I have to find the perfect way before I can start,” or even “I thought growth would be easier than this!” Unfortunately, personal growth is not a natural process in most peoples’ lives–you must be intentional! Bill is fond of saying, “Everything worthwhile is uphill all the way, and most people have uphill hopes but downhill habits!” He instructed the club to lead their lives, not just accept them, especially after many people have felt stuck in jobs or marriages due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the only guarantee that tomorrow will be better than today is if we grow ourselves today–so, how do we start?

 

 

Well, according to Bill, we need to plant the seed! Just as a seed needs good soil and sunlight, we need a caring environment that holds us accountable, which is where our Rotary family comes in. He says we need to make big commitments to intentionally grow, face our fear factors, and make our commitments public–and share our progress with others! Ask yourself, Bill says, what are you doing TODAY to develop yourself? What are you doing TODAY to develop others? Bill's most important message was to get started today. The only way to grow is by stepping out of your comfort zone, so he challenges Rotarians to share their personal growth goals with someone else, to be intentional in just one area of their lives, and to use every opportunity to grow! Rotarians interested in learning more can join Bill Goodwin’s leadership E-newsletter, which he co-writes with his mentor and inspiration, John C. Maxwell. 

 

 October 31: Superintendent Josh Swanson --“100 years of Eden Prairie Schools”.
 November 7: Craig & Pauline Neal—Center for Purposeful Living
 November 11: Veterans’ Day Luncheon at Bear Path Country Club, 11:30 AM
 November 21: Nasser Mohammadi—“An Afghan Refugee’s Story”

 

 President Dan reviewed recent service projects that EPAM Rotary has undertaken—School Supply Drive, Patchwork Community Garden (which donated 650 pounds of produce to PROP!) and Habitat for Humanity.